Children of The War, Book 2: Earth
by James Golen
Summary: Sequel to Children of The War, Book 1. Aang's journeys in the Earth Kingdoms come upon unexpected obstacles, and old friends become new enemies. AU. Hints of Ty Lokka.
1. Regrets and Lies

**New story, new rules. Instead of making a bunch of vignettes which flow around the existing plot, as it was in Book 1, in Book 2, the stories _replace _the plot. Therefore, each chapter will be significantly longer, hold a significantly larger amount of stuff in them, and hopefully, be significantly better. The same rules which applied last time also apply here. This is not quite the world that Aang and company went through. Some things have changed, and they're having steadily progressing ramifications as the story goes forward. One of these repercussions was that Ty Lee spent almost two years stranded on Kyoshi Island. Another is that for the rest of the series, Zuko has a beard. I know, you could never have seen that coming, could you?**

**There are things which weren't part of 'canon' A:TLA which are in this. First amongst these are languages. Water Tribesmen speak Yqanuac, which is derived from Mongolian and Saami roots. East Continent (aka, Earth Kingdoms) people usually speak Tianxia. It is the lingua franca of the setting, the trade language. It's the second language of just about everybody, and has roots in the many dialects of Chinese, with a distinct Arabic flavor. Huojian, the language of the Fire Nation, is primarily Japanese, but with a large dose of Spanish, as well. Other languages come up, but are often less used. There's Ackbiihu, the sandbender tongue, and mostly derives from Farsi. There's Whalesh, which, as the name might indicate, belongs to the people of Great Whales, and obviously enough, is more or less Welsh. **

**Any other changes will be mentioned in their respective chapters. Now, without further ado, let's get this trainwreck moving.**

* * *

The calling of wild puffins, so much like discontented moans, buffeted Iroh as he leaned against the back of his seat. The attendant, a lovely young lady with hands like silk worked the file over his battered, weary feet, and he could not restrain a contented sigh. "This is what I've been missing," he said. Zuko did not comment. "Who would have thought that a fortnight on a boat I didn't know how to sail, with no food or water, and falcon sharks waiting to rise up and eat our legs would make a person so tense?"

Zuko just shot Iroh a glance under the broad hat. Iroh sighed. "Please, nephew. Finish your meal. We don't know how long we're going to stay here. We might as well enjoy it."

"We've already been here too long," Zuko said bitterly. Iroh frowned, then it dawned on him.

"I see. It's the anniversary, isn't it?" Iroh said quietly.

"Four years. It's been four years since I lost everything," he whispered.

"You haven't lost everything," Iroh reminded him, but Zuko's golden eyes snapped up at him.

"And what haven't I lost?" he shouted. The attendant recoiled a bit, but Iroh steadied her with a hand before she bolted. She gave Iroh a glance, but then went back to working on his feet. "I was Crown Prince! I would have been Fire Lord! Now I have nothing... But if I get the Avatar... if I can restore my honor, maybe my father will finally accept me. Maybe he'll stop thinking I'm worthless."

"Your father doesn't think you're worthless. Why would he banish you if he didn't care?" Iroh asked. Then he realized how that would sound to somebody who didn't have his external view of things. He cringed a bit. "That came out wrong, didn't it?"

Zuko moved to loom over Iroh. Ever since the assassination attempt, he stopped shaving his face and scalp. While he had pulled the longest part of his hair back into its customary tail, he now looked almost more Earth Kingdom than Fire Nation. "I want the Avatar," Zuko said. "I want my honor back. I want my throne."

"You might yet have it," a woman's voice said from the door. Iroh's eyes went wide. It couldn't be. It was impossible. There was no way she could have come to Bakemano Island. He shooed away the attendant and got to his feet, and his worst fears were confirmed. He entered into a deep bow.

"You surprise and grace us with your presence, Princess Azula," Iroh said politely. He glanced over to Zuko, who just stared at his younger sister, an odd fire in his eyes.

"Of course I do," she said. "And, in my country, we exchange a pleasant hello when greeting family," she smirked in that way only Azula could. "_Hello_, brother."

"Azula, what are you doing here?" Zuko asked. Iroh rolled his eyes.

"I see that your time amongst the savages has damaged your tact. Have you become uncivilized so quickly, Zuzu?" she asked. Iroh could practically see the vein popping out of Zuko's forehead.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko shouted. Azula's smirk didn't alter one whit. Iroh rose and stepped in front of his nephew.

"To what do we owe this honor?" he asked the Crown Princess, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Such directness," Azula said. She glanced at her older brother. "However sometimes it comes with poise and proper delivery. I wonder how that trait managed to avoid you so completely, Zuzu?" She took a more relaxed stance, but Iroh knew a woman expecting a fight when he saw one. "Father's priorities have shifted. With the crushing defeat at the North Pole, and the loss of so many men and ships, he fears that there will be more political unrest in the Azul provinces, and open revolts in Ember. With the increases in tensions, he understands that family are the only ones he can trust," her tone softened a bit, and she shrugged. "He regrets your banishment, and wants you to return home."

"Home?" Zuko asked. There was a hunger in his eyes. A desperation that bordered on mania. "My exile forgiven?"

"Gone like smoke in the wind," Azula said. Iroh grabbed his nephew's shoulder and hauled him aside for a moment.

"Uncle, what's wrong? It thought you'd be happy for me! We're going home!" he said. Iroh scowled.

In Yqanuac, a language he was fairly sure Azula had little to no proficiency in, he quickly whispered. "_Your father has never regretted anything he's done in his entire life._"

"But..." Zuko said, and Iroh tried to silence him with a glance, but his homesickness had poisoned him. He shook his head, and turned away from Iroh. "When do we leave?"

"Presently," she said. She vigorously brushed a spot on her shoulder where it had brushed the door frame. "I have no intention of remaining in this... dust pit... any longer than I absolutely have to." That was truth. She turned and walked away. "Don't be late, Zuzu. I can't wait forever."

Zuko took a step to follow his sister, but Iroh forcibly stopped him. Zuko looked back, a burning anger in his eyes. "What is it?" he said, his voice trembling.

"Don't do this. I don't like how this feels," Iroh said.

"How it feels? HOW IT FEELS? Uncle, I've done everything the way you said I should. And what has it got me?" he asked. "Nothing! No Avatar, no honor, Agni's blood I haven't even had a bed to sleep on in a month that didn't stink of somebody else's flatulence!"

"Zuko, please," he said. "I have a condition."

"No! If you want to wile away your life on this rock, be my guest. I'm going home," he said. There was a catch in the last word as Zuko said it. Iroh shook his head. Home was more than a place to the boy. And Iroh had forgotten that. He sighed, then nodded.

"Then I will come with you. It will be good to see my house again. I wonder if Lo remembered to water my bansai tree?" Iroh said. Zuko put on a smirk of relief, a wholly different beast from the one Azula so frequently wore.

The walk down the hills to the dock was a quiet one, on Iroh's part. Zuko, on the other hand, couldn't be silent about his idealized home for a moment, gushing in a highly atypical fashion. Iroh began to wonder if Zuko ran as hot-and-cold as Iroh's great grandfather? It was an unpleasant thought.

As the Royal Dreadnought ca me into view, Zuko paused for a moment. "I can't believe I'm going home. It's unbelievable."

"It _is_ unbelievable," Iroh said. He hadn't lied. Ozai never regretted anything. "There is something Azula is not telling us. Or is telling us, that isn't true."

"You're just being paranoid," Zuko accused. "Father's changed his mind. He wants me back."

"I fear, if he wants you back, it's not for the reasons either of us hope," Iroh pointed out.

"What could you possibly know about that?" Zuko shouted. "You don't know what my father feels about me! You don't know anything!"

Iroh made a placating gesture. "I'm just saying that in this family, things are seldom as they appear. I know this from having many years lived in it. Don't forget I've lived three of your lifetimes."

"To a certain definition of living," Zuko said as he started walking again. Iroh sighed, long-suffering as always, and followed his nephew. The two men left the stairs and walked along the pier. It was lined with firebenders in their heavy armor. A sudden fear snuck into Iroh's brain. They were all Negatives. In the firebending corps, there were two primary divisions, based off of the primary jins. Negatives, usually men and trained for resilience and stamina, were given heavy armor because they were expected to withstand the brunt of assaults. Positives, often women and trained for speed and power, often wore little armor at all. Every soldier here was a Negative.

They were expecting a fight, and one they knew would not end quickly. They were prepared for a battle of attrition and action economy against somebody who was powerful, and would need to be worn down. Even as Zuko moved up the gangway, the wheels turned furiously in Iroh's head. Then, at the ship's edge, he saw Azula. On her face was that smirk. He finally pegged where he'd seen a smirk of just that quality; on the face of Admiral Zhao, right before he tried to destroy the world.

Iroh lashed forward, grabbing Zuko's shoulder and hauling him to a stop. His eyes went wide. "What is it, Uncle?" he asked.

"This is a trap," Iroh said.

"You always thought you were so clever, traitor," Azula said. "You're an old fool."

"Perhaps," Iroh said. "But at least I can look at myself in the mirror." Azula's smirk vanished, and her face twitched. Hit the nail on the head. Then, in a viper-fast move, she struck, sending forth a gout of pure blue flames which uncle and nephew barely got out of the way of. And behind them, the firebenders turned and advanced. The firebenders, lesser fighters than Azula, let fly their red and yellow flames. But Iroh had a lot of practice; he'd been a warrior as long as many of these people had been alive.

Even as the first blast moved toward him, he moved into a stance quite unlike any firebending form that was taught in the Fire Nation. In fact, it wasn't a firebending form at all; it was a waterbending form. A twist of his wrists, and a proper direction of chi, and the blast twisted around him, fueled but no longer directed by its creator. He bent it into another of the firebenders, who was sent flying off of the wharf. Iroh moved with a speed he knew he would regret tomorrow, his old body shifting between forms old and new, domestic and foreign. Waterbending forms to use his enemies against each other. Firebending forms to capitalize on mistakes. In moments, only, the dock was cleared, and firebenders were struggling to keep above the surface of the water. If they had been Positives, Iroh might have held back; he didn't like hurting his own countrymen.

Up on deck, though, things were dire. Rather than flee, as Iroh had hoped, Zuko was engaged in an all-out duel with Azula. One he couldn't hope to win. Iroh rushed up the ramp. "Prince Zuko!" he shouted, but his nephew was too busy trying to get a telling hit in on his sister. She was vastly more powerful than he was, though; there was no way he could get out of being on the defensive. Then, she did something Iroh didn't expect. Instead of a fire blast, her stance shifted just a minute amount, and a percussion sounded, knocking Zuko the deck of the ship.

"You lied to me," Zuko said, pulling himself back up. Azula smirked.

"Like I've never done that before," she laughed. Zuko's face contorted with rage as he ran forward. Iroh prepared a nasty surprise of his own, but Azula was fast. No firebending, no tricks, just a lightning-fast kick in the chest, Zuko's barely-healed chest, and the boy was reeling back to the deck. She smirked, and she began to bend once more. Iroh knew the stance she was taking. He abandoned his own attack and ran forward, clapping hers fingers in his vice-like grip at the last possible instant. A tremendous surge traveled down his body, and into his stomach. Such energy, such power. He didn't know Azula was capable of so much. Not so young. Azulon was right. She was a firebender the likes of which the world might never see again. He directed the energy back up to his other hand, which he cast down at the deck. The lightning she had almost thrown at Zuko smashed down into the heart of the ship, tearing apart its engines with its fury.

"How did you...?" Azula asked, the utter gobsmacked look on her face something Iroh had never seen in his long life. He answered her by pivoting on his hip and heaving her over the railing of the ship. A quite satisfying splash sounded below, and Iroh moved to his gasping nephew.

"Are you alright?" Iroh asked. Zuko looked up at the small pagoda which rested at the midline of the ship. He looked down at the hole Iroh had blasted in it, and his face tightened.

"No."

Iroh helped his nephew to his feet, and they moved back off of the ship. As they reached the docks, one of the firebenders had almost gotten himself back up. Iroh made a fighting stance, and the firebender looked at him, then let go and dropped back into the water. Good for him.

"Where will we go?" Zuko asked. There was despair in his voice. "We can't go to the East Continent. If we're found in the Earth Kingdoms, they'll kill us."

"If we're found in the Fire Nation, they'll give us to Azula," Iroh said. The two exiles shared a moment of common consideration, then looked at each other.

"Earth Kingdoms it is."

A few hours and some fast talking later, they were on the waves, heading to the southeast. Iroh opened the furl of paper he had grabbed as he ran. It was a wanted poster, signed and sealed by Ozai himself, demanding the arrest of Iroh and Zuko. He hadn't even given them a chance. It was just like his brother to do something like this. Damn his blackened soul. He turned to Zuko, who was still breathing carefully for his wounded ribs. He showed Zuko the poster. As he did, he pulled out the top-knot on his head, letting his hair fall down his back. Zuko looked at Iroh and understood. They could never be those people in the poster ever again. Zuko's burgeoning beard was already helping, but Zuko reached back and took his own top-knot, and with a small knife, severed it. He held it in his hands, staring at it for a long moment, before his eyes pulled shut, his fist clenched, and the stink of burning hair filled the cabin. They were fugitives.

* * *

She hated to see Aang this miserable. Ever since the end of the Siege of the North, when everything had settled and the last of the prisoners was brought into the city, she thought he would be elated. Instead, he drifted into a quite unusual funk. It didn't help that Sokka was taking Yue's death especially hard. That she understood. Yue and Sokka had been extremely close. Probably as close as they could be, considering the circumstances. She still couldn't for the life of her figure out why Yue developed an attraction for Sokka, of all people, but that wasn't Katara's place to speculate.

"May I come in?" Aang's voice perked her right up. She shouted he could, and he cracked the door a bit. He always did that before he came in. She wasn't sure why. It was almost as if he was afraid of what he might see when he did. He entered, and plunked himself down on the rug next to the bed. His head, usually freshly shaved each morning, was beginning to show black stubble.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't do it," Aang said quietly. He looked up at her with those dark eyes and he seemed a child again. Not some all-powerful creature out of legend and myth, not an air and waterbender of monumental skill, just a lost child.

"You can't do what?" she asked.

"General Fong had a plan," Aang explained. His voice was oddly flat. "He wanted me to go into the Avatar State, and cut a path through the Gates of Azulon, storming Sozin City."

"Wasn't that your plan all along?" she asked.

"He wants me to do it now!" Aang protested. "But I don't know how to get into the Avatar State. And when I'm there... I just don't even know if I ever want to do that again. The last time I did..." he glanced up at her. "I don't like what happened to me the last time I was in the Avatar State."

"It's alright," she said, soothingly. He leaned with his back against the bed she sat on. "It's not like you always pick things up right away. You just need some practice and you'll be able to use the Avatar State whenever you need to."

"But that's just it!" Aang said, not facing her. "I always _do_ pick up things fast. I picked up waterbending faster than you did," she scowled at that memory, "and if I'd found a firebending teacher, I would have picked that up, too. I know it."

"But that's not the way it's supposed to go, isn't it?" she asked.

"Water, earth, fire," he nodded. "But what if that's not enough? What if the Fire Lord is too powerful?"

She frowned a moment. "What is wrong, Aang? Usually, you're the one chafing at the bit to get moving, to see something new and exciting. What happened?" It wasn't usually her place to try to lift Aang's morale. That was... right. It was Sokka's job, and Sokka was not good company right now.

"Can we just not talk about this?" Aang said, suddenly quite irritated. "I mean, the world just keeps pointing out, over and over, that people keep dying because of me. Because I ran away, because I can't control myself; what kind of Avatar am I?"

"I never knew this was bothering you so much," Katara said. "What do you want to do?"

"I... I don't know!" he shouted, and blast of wind pressed her hard against the wall. Everything loose in the room either fell over or smashed. He looked around, and his eyes began to well. "I can't do anything right."

"Aang, you're doing fine," she said. She moved to him and gave him an obviously much-needed hug. "You've already saved the world once. I know you can do it again."

Aang pulled himself away, and stared at her a moment. "I think I've been running away too long," he moved to the door. "I'm going to tell General Fong that I'll be his Avatar. Whatever it takes."

* * *

Azula dragged her brush through her long hair. The nerve. The audacity. The gall. How dare they lay hands upon her royal person? How day they humiliate her in front of the common soldiery? How dare they think they could escape her? Already, in her mind, the wheel was spinning. Threads coalesced and formed skeins, skeins became patterns. She set down her brush for a moment and stared out the window. The ship would probably not sail again any time soon, so she would have to arrange other transport. However, that had suddenly become quite feasible.

The soldiers her father had loaned her turned out to be spectacularly useless. Those red armored fools spent more time and effort trying to keep themselves from drowning in the harbor than they ever did trying to restrain and subdue their targets. No, the Imperial firebenders were dead weight. She would need to be fast and cunning to capture that traitor Iroh and her failure of a brother. But she couldn't do it alone. There were skills she would need to aid her. She couldn't do everything.

She couldn't do anything.

She twitched as the thought went through her mind. As fast as it appeared, she banished it. She was capable of anything. There was a reason why Father gave her this responsibility, why he named her the Crown Princess; she got things done. She had talents that almost nobody else on the globe could match. She was a firebending prodigy, a master at the age most people only begin to manifest their gifts. And she knew how to use people, another gift she developed at an age where most girls were still playing with dolls. But these alone wouldn't be enough. She needed somebody who knew the East Continent. She knew from the Whalesh that they were headed to the Earth Kingdoms, and her practical knowledge of those lands was limited. She needed somebody who could spot the tiny details, those things in the background. Azula was spectacular at reading intentions, but she didn't have an assassin's eye for traps.

Nobody will help you.

She almost shivered, despite the heat. These thoughts were plaguing her more often, now. She pushed it away as completely as she had the one before it. And it was patently wrong, besides. She had people who could help her. Two names came to mind instantly, two people whom owed her favors, whom she had influence. People who would follow her. She took up her brush, and got back to work on her hair. It wouldn't do to be untidy. She finally finished, arranging her hair just so. She looked in the mirror. Ursa watched her from the back of the room.

"What is it, Mother?" Azula asked. "You can't stand to see me on my own, can you? You don't think I'm ready for this monumental task? Well I am. I am more than ready. I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. Father has made me ready."

Ursa just watched her sadly.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" Azula's eyes narrowed as she pinned her hair in place. "You never believed in me. Not for one moment. I don't know why Father ever married you. You... murderer, you demon. What do you want? Well? What do you want?"

She turned, and her two preceptors and pedagogues, Lo and Li were standing in the door. Both were women beyond ancient, as old as Azulon when he died. They looked surprised. She didn't care. She rose and walked toward them. "I asked you a question."

"The captain wants you to know,"

"The ship won't be repaired for several days," Lo and Li said. They frequently finished each others sentences, and as identical as they were, it made it an exercise in futility to tell who was saying what.

"It's just as well, what I need now is a small, elite team," she said, walking out the doors onto the deck of the ship. The sky was grey and leaden. She smirked. She was going to give it something to be leaden about. The people still milled about the Royal Dreadnought as she took a deep breath. It bothered her. What Iroh had done to her lightning. It shouldn't have been possible. She emptied herself of everything, and felt the energy pull itself apart. As it came crashing down, she thrust out one hand, and a twisting arc of blue lightning seared over the length of the ship, and crashed into the stony cliff-face.

"Almost perfect,"

"But one hair out of place," Lo and Li said.

Azula's gaze tightened on one lock of hair which had slipped out of her style. She felt a heat rising through her in a great wave. The fire began to lick at her very soul. "Almost perfect _is not GOOD ENOUGH!_" she shouted, instantly snapping another blast of lightning out of her fingertips, sending the cliff face into a full-scale collapse. Hundreds of tonnes of rock slid into the bay below it. She breathed a few times, feeling that heat ebb. She quietly gathered that hair back into place, and turned to her teachers. "I will be leaving at once. I will go on my own, and I will not be communicating until my objectives are complete."

"But where will you be going?"

"And what will we tell your father?" Lo and Li asked.

Azula smirked. "Tell him that I am fulfilling my responsibility to the Fire Lord. And I am going where I need to."

Without waiting for another word from the old women, she turned and walked down the plank to the docks. She knew she would need a fast ship, and a ship unable to sail wouldn't do at all. The local craft were all sailed vessels, beholden to wind and tide, and thus useless to her. But she knew that Iroh and Zuzu had gotten off of this island somehow. She walked to the other shore, a very short hike considering the island was basically a knife's edge of cliffs with some beach running along each side. On the other side, right where she had expected, was the low, metal hulls she was looking for.

She had little good to say about the Whalesh. They were crude, unnecessarily large, had strange hair, their language was utterly incomprehensible, and they had the most bizarre names – what sort of name was Nai Jel, anyway? – but when it came to ships, they were almost a match for the Fire Nation, ship for ship. The only reason the Fire Lord hadn't cracked down on the Whalesh was because, amongst other reasons, they were so many fewer than the Fire Nation. She moved down the rocky coast on the lee of the island, away from what civilization claimed to exist.

One Whaleshman, a hulking fellow with that bizarre, copper-colored hair on his head and bare chest, smiled down at her as she approached the vessel. "Oi!" he called. "Wha's th' luvvy lass doin' 'n a place o' this?" She had to think a second to figure out what he said, even though he was speaking a language she understood, albeit a broken, slurring Huojian. She put on a false, but innocent smile.

"I'm just looking for some transport. Could I please speak to your captain?" she asked. The man leapt down to her with a splash, and ran a thick finger down her cheek. She tried very hard to not kill him where he stood.

"Wha's a matter' a' his wi' you?" he said. She forced the smile to stay on her face, even though a part of her wanted to vomit. She reached up, and ran her own fingers along his hair, behind his ear. When it was there, she dug in hard, twisting and tearing into his flesh with her long, sharp nails. He let out a cry of surprise and pain, which quickly brought others to the deck of the ship. She looked up patiently at them.

"I assume that this one is not the captain of this vessel, so I want to know who is." Azula said. All eyes moved from her, to each other. Then, all fingers pointed at one man in particular, who was unique in that he was wearing a shirt. Oh, this would be an onerous journey. Her innocent smile transformed into a smirk. "Good. Off you go."

She released the sailor, who fell into the surf, clutching at his aching, bleeding ear. She ran toward the ship, and with a powerful leap, vaulted the rail, causing several of the sailors to fall back, or else be leapt through. She hopped onto the deck, and brushed her bangs aside. "This is a smuggling vessel, correct?" she asked. She knew it was. She just wanted to see if he would give her a reason. He took a measure of her, up and down. Unlike most, he didn't pause in any place that would get his eyes burned out.

"That it be," he said. An honest smuggler? Unlikely. Probably, he was just one who knew well enough to fear her properly.

"You will take me to Whale Tail island," she said. "When there, you will sell or otherwise jettison all of your cargo, and I will pick up a few things. Once that is done, you will transport me and my possessions to," she paused a moment, trying to remember. Where had she said she'd gone? Oh, right, "Kyoshi Island, and from from there Four Mile Bay. There will be no deviations from this itinerary."

"And why would I be doing this?" the captain asked. His Huojian was accented, but a far cry better than the others.

"Because I will pay you. And if you don't accept this job, then I will kill you, and then make the same offer to your second in command," she said, with perfect honesty.

Nobody can love you.

"AM I CLEAR?" she shouted. The captain seemed to run the numbers in his head, and nodded. "Very well. We leave at once."

"Yes ma'am," the Captain said. He leaned over the rail and shouted something incomprehensible in that bastard-tongue the Whalesh used to the man on the ground. The wounded man quickly clambered up and went below decks. "I suppose you won't be asking my name, so I won't ask yours."

Azula's opinion of this man rose, just a little bit. "Smart man."

"I try to be," he said. Still staring at her, he shouted. "Men, stoke the engines. We leave now."

* * *

Sokka stared up at the sky. Even though it was only early evening and the sun still hung in the air, the moon was already visible, a ghostly phantom near the horizon. He tried to think back to last year, the year before that, to remember if it had ever done that before. To the best of his recollection, it didn't. He pressed his fingers to his lips, and raised them to the sky. "I miss you, Yue," he said quietly, almost silently. Katara didn't notice.

Things were taking longer than he had ever expected. He rolled over and looked at his maps again. The biggest part of Aang's plan was that he had to find an earthbending master, but while the Earth Kingdoms had many masters available, it wasn't like they were conveniently marked on a map. He looked over to his sister, who was doing some sort of bend-y thing with her soup.

"Oh, now you're just showing off," Sokka said.

"Practice is practice," she said. "Besides, bending water without things inside it falling out isn't as easy as it looks," she gave him a glance. "You remember that fish?"

"_YES_, I remember the fish," Sokka said, rolling out of bed. It was strange to have a bed to roll out of. He'd gotten so used to sleeping bags and piles of yak-horse skins that he'd forgotten how comfortable a feather mattress could be. "At least I don't get wet every time you waterbend, anymore."

"Is that a challenge?" his sister asked. Sokka opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He didn't feel up to sparring right now. She looked at him. "Oh, come on. You're not being yourself."

"Maybe I don't feel like myself right now," Sokka said peevishly. "Maybe I can't be happy all the time."

"You can be sarcastic."

"Well, it is part of my identity," Sokka stroked his imaginary beard. "Who do you think Aang is going to go to so he can learn earthbending?"

"Well, King Bumi's the obvious choice," she said, putting the soup back into her bowl and taking a sip. "Bleagh. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you cooked it."

"Hey, I'm a good cook. As long as you keep it to certain types of foods," he said, digging up his map of the East Continent. His finger ran from where they were now, in the Heel of Rou Ren, across the sea to Omashu in the south. It was not close. "It'll be a bit of a trip."

"And this isn't fit to eat. Even to someone with your palate," she said, pitching the soup out the window.

"Hey, I'm the judge of that!" Sokka said, watching the soup fly away. Food was food.

She shook her head. "I'm not even really hungry. Where's Aang? He's been gone all day?"

"Mastering the Avatar State must be rough," Sokka said, turning regretfully from the lost food, of whatever quality. "He does tend to be a quick study. Hey, you remember Omashu, little sister?"

"How could I forget? Aang acting like a kid, Bumi's insane tasks," she chuckled.

"'My _cabbages_!'," Sokka laughed. "Oh, I thought that guy was going to kill us."

Katara smiled for a moment, then stood and moved to the door. "I'm going to check on Aang. This just feels strange," he rolled his eyes as she left him alone. He moved back to his bed, and looked out the wide window. Some nights, he just couldn't sleep, looking up at that moon. Other nights, he slept, and the dreams he had... it was almost like she was there with him again. And it hurt. Tui La did it hurt. Even the tiny sadist in him couldn't take pleasure in the fact that by the time she was gone, she was already a widow. He just wanted her back. He wanted somebody who could make him smile again, feel confused but happy.

He sat up. He couldn't keep moping. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, and dinner just flew out the window. He had to do something! So he got up, and went out into the halls, following his nose to the kitchens. He put on a cocky smile as he leaned on the doorframe. "Hey, there ladies, got anything for me?" he asked.

Some of the under-chefs giggled and tittered at him, and in no time flat, he had charmed his way into an odd, Fire Nation snack which recently came across the sea. Fried slices of something called 'potato', covered in spices and salt. He dug into them with a vengeance, thanking the ladies with florid praise and leaving to wander the base. He wasn't sure why, but ever since he came here, he got all of his meals the same way. It was a habit he was going to have to keep up; it beat soup a-la-a-rock-at-the-bottom-of-a-cliff.

Sokka's ears brought him to a large courtyard. The sound of grating stone and shouting voices told him somebody was training, and that was usually an afternoon's entertainment. He got himself seated on a step, and watched as the great stone discs rolled to and fro across the field. He contentedly muched away, until he saw that amongst those discs, there was a figure, trying desperately not to get crushed by them. A figure in yellow and red robes. Sokka almost threw his Fire Flakes aside, but then remembered how delicious they were, and set them aside carefully, before shouting, his mouth full of one last handful, "Aang. I'm coming for you!"

He regretted that. When he said it, an ostrich horse kicked him in the back, sending him tumbling into the edge of the arena. He had to scamper to get out of the way of what was essentially a weaponized millstone. The earthbenders were trying to kill Aang? What happened, had he been transported to an alternate universe where the Earth Nation under the evil Earth Lord Kuei had destroyed the Air Nomads and was waging a war of annihilation against the Avatar?

"EAT BOOMERANG, ALTERNATE REALITY EARTHBENDERS!" he shouted, hurling his weapon at one of the broad, muscular men. Unfortunately, heads didn't tend to have a great deal of protection by muscle, so the boomerang knocked him flat, and his rolling stone tipped and rolled into somebody else's, which set off a chain reaction disabling half the onslaught. He was about to hurl the boomerang again when he saw something fly over him. He looked down, and saw that a loop of rope was rapidly tightening around his feet.

With a jolt, he was yanked down, landing hard on his chest. He twisted and tried to throw it at the person who snared him, but he, an the ostrich horse he rode in on, shot past Sokka and started dragging him. He tried to brain the man with the boomerang as he was dragged by his feet, but it just caromed off his helmet. Sokka frantically yelped every time one of those stones just missed him. He scrambled for something he could use. He couldn't reach his feet to cut the line. And if he threw his machete, he'd have nothing to cut it with. Then he felt something hard in his pocket. He pulled it out; it was a metal fan. How long had that been tucked in there? And where had he gotten a metal fan? It didn't matter. It was heavy. He threw it hard, and with as much precision as he could, so that it goosed the ostrich horse, sending it into a quite useless rear. The pause gave Sokka enough time to free himself from the lasso.

But not enough time to dodge the stone rolling toward his head. He curled, but a ramp of ice appeared, just sending the stone over him. He could feel the grit hit his eyes from where it landed. He got to his feet. Aang was at one end of the courtyard, Sokka at the other, and Katara about half way in between. He looked up, and saw Fong staring down at them, a triumphant look about him.

"What in the arid deserts of Hell was that all about?" Sokka asked.

"If you can't enter the Avatar State except when your friends are in danger, then consider them in danger," Fong said. He stomped his foot, and Katara sank into the stonework. Both Avatar and big brother ran toward her, but Sokka was hitched when a cord looped round his neck, and began to pull tight. He couldn't breathe, and he didn't know where to swing.

"Good. Goood!"

"Please! You don't have to do this!" Aang begged. He was weeping as he tried to pull Katara out, before dodging a stone. Another stomp, and she was buried to her head. "Anything but this! I beg you! Don't do this to them!"

"Then give me the Avatar! Become the Avatar!" Fong shouted. He stomped one more time, and Katara disappeared. If Sokka could have screamed, he would.

Aang went silent, his face empty as a mask. He closed his eyes, but when he opened them, they burned with blue light. He began to rise up, his tattoos beginning to glow. "Yes!" Fong shouted. "Yes, you're doing it! Look here!" he said, stomping once more. Katara was vomited from the ground. Sokka felt the noose 'round his neck loosen. "Your friends are safe! And you have all the power you need to defeat the Fire Na–"

That was as far as Fong got, because Aang's gentle, kind features, had transformed into a mask of almost inhuman rage. And now, he stared at Fong.

* * *

Aang looked up, and smiled as Roku smiled down to him. "Roku! Wait. What happened?"

"You entered the Avatar State," Roku said.

"No! Katara! Sokka! I've got to save them!"

"They can wait," a woman's voice came. Aang turned. There was an Air Nomad standing behind him. "You have all the time you need, here."

"Who are you?" Aang asked. Before, it had only been Roku. A familiar figure in green armor appeared between Roku and the other woman. Kyoshi.

"That, would be Avatar Yangchen," Kyoshi said, and then she nodded to her the gap between them, where there was suddenly a man in the blue armor of a Water Tribesman. "And the latecomer, as usual, is Kuruk."

"Somebody forgot my invitation," Kuruk said genially.

"Fei hua we forgot your invitation, you lazy bum," Yangchen said.

"Please, what's going on?" Aang asked.

"Aang, it's time you learned about the Avatar State," Roku said.

"When an Avatar needs more power or knowledge which one of his or her previous incarnations held, they can access it by opening themselves to the Avatar State," Kyoshi said.

"It is also the state which allows you to move freely between the physical and spirit worlds," Kuruk added. "Similar to shamans, you have the innate ability to speak Uou, the language of spirits, as you no doubt felt, when you dealt with that... creature, Koh."

"But there is a risk involved with entering the Avatar State," Yangchen said coolly. "If you are killed while you are accessing the combined knowledge of the previous incarnations, or if your body dies while you are in the spirit realm in body, rather than just in soul, as Kuruk discovered..."

"Are you making an issue of that?" Kuruk asked. For an instant, he flickered between a virile young man and a bitter middle aged man who looked like he had aged long before his time.

"...then the cycle of reincarnation will be broken," Yangchen continued. "The Avatar would cease to exist, for all time."

Aang hung his head. "Well, then I'll be safe, because I never intend to enter the Avatar State again."

All four of his previous lives leaned back as one, and as one asked. "Why not?"

"I'm so angry when I do it, and I do things that I don't want to do," Aang said. "I mean... I killed people at the North Pole. I swore that I would never do something like that. It's one of my sacred paths, and when I become the Avatar, it doesn't even register with me. What sort of Air Nomad could I ever claim to be if I kill as easily as Sozin did?"

Yangchen shook her head. "You are not an Air Nomad, child. You are the Avatar. Sadly, your bodhisattva must take lesser priority to the realities of the world."

"Just one minute, there," Kyoshi said. "Aang doesn't want to kill people. So, don't kill people."

"Says the Avatar who killed Chin, and quite a few others in her time," Kuruk pointed out.

"Please," Roku said loudly. The others stopped and turned to him. "You were all born in less idealistic times. Yangchen, your life was marred by endless tragedy and loss, without cease or salvation."

"It made me stronger, and better able to do my duty," she said coldly. Aang goggled at her. She looked like an Air Nomad, but she didn't sound like one.

"Kyoshi was born to an age of war, and grew fell and bitter," Kuruk said.

"But I learned at the end that my anger and hatred were keeping me from having so many of the best things in life. So I learned to live without that hatred and fear," Kyoshi said. "I accepted my past mistakes, and endeavored never to repeat them," Aang already knew Kuruk's story. It was like Kyoshi's but backward.

"Is it really that simple?" Aang asked.

"No. No, you have to really look at yourself. You have to master why it is you felt those fears, made those mistakes," Roku said. "Without that, you are doomed to repeat them without end."

"When you learn to move freely in and out of the Avatar State, you will be in total control," Kyoshi said.

"But if you cannot control the Avatar State, it will control you," Yangchen finished.

Darkness swelled up and covered Aang. When his vision cleared, he was leaning against Katara, and Sokka was shouting something at General Fong, who lay in a heap nearby. Katara's expression brightened when Aang whispered her name. "What happened? Is everyone alright?"

She glanced around. "More or less," she said. She beckoned Sokka over, and her big brother helped steady Aang while he got used to having only one consciousness in his mind. Katara leaned very close to Fong.

"Don't ever do that to Aang again," she said. "Because if you do, you'll learn why in a hundred years, with so many ships, the Fire Nation never defeated us. You don't want to see that, trust me."

"That's my sister," Sokka said proudly.

"We're leaving," Katara said. Sokka laughed uncomfortably. Katara had an unusually fierce look on her face, like she was begging for an excuse to impale something. It wasn't one Aang was used to seeing on her. It scared him a little.

"What about the escort?" Sokka asked.

"If it's from him, we'd be better off without it," she said.

"Then we'd better get going. I want to be somewhere far from here when we make camp," Sokka muttered. "Stupid alternate-reality earthbenders."

"What?" Katara asked. Aang just blew on his Bison Whistle. Appa was soon landing, and the gang got onto its back. With a quiet, almost distracted 'yip yip', they left the ground, and began the long flight south, across the swell of the ocean, to the impenetrable city of Omashu.


	2. The Swamp

**When I wrote this, I realized that some things had to have changed in the first season, and I moved the 'for want of a nail' a bit further back in time. What would be the nearest major change that would send ripples throughout the A:tLA chronology? Then, while writing this, it hit me. Jeong Jeong didn't defect. He just became bitter and cold, resigned in his place amongst a machine of terror and pain. He turned off his soul and just let whatever come, come. Because of that, he never encountered Aang in the first season. There are no legends of a "Man who Escaped the Fire Nation". Jeong Jeong isn't a hero. He's just another face, another set of dead eyes, working for Ozai because he sees no other option. **

**Oh, and because I forgot to mention it in the first preamble: The spirits have their own language, one that few ever learn to speak. 'Uou'.**

* * *

"What is it?" Aang asked from the saddle. Sokka leaned forward, squinting his eyes against the growing light. They were all tired. The open sea hadn't let them land for two days straight. Everybody was on the verge of collapse, especially Appa. Only the lemur seemed to have any pep, but that was because he wasn't carrying three teenagers, their supplies, and a lemur.

"Something big. Something that shouldn't be there," Sokka said. He remembered the lands around Omashu. Quite vividly, too. That was back when flying on Appa was a new and exciting thing, something that he hadn't thought possible. Strange how it had become so routine. He leaned forward, as though that would give him a better view. "I think we should stay clear of it."

"Why? What do you think it is?" Katara asked. Sokka was silent while Appa brought them closer, and when he did, he quickly turned Appa to the west. This brought Aang to an upright sit.

"What are you doing? Omashu's east!"

"There's a Fire Nation army down there," He handed the reins up, and Katara took them. "We can't fly over them, or we'd get shot down. But," he said, consulting his maps, "this swamp runs along the mountain. If we go over the mountain, we're adding days, maybe a week to the trip. If we go on foot in the swamp, we could be past the army by the day after tomorrow."

"Do you think they're here to conquer Omashu?" Aang asked.

"If they are, then we can't afford to waste any time," Katara said. "I'm bring us down."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Aang asked Sokka.

"I'm trusting my instincts on this one," Sokka said.

"The last time we trusted your instincts..."

"We saved the world," Sokka said, annoyed. "Why does nobody trust my instincts?"

The gang brought Appa lower and lower, until it finally pushed its way through the canopy of trees, and descended out of the daylight and into a strange twilight. Appa let out grunts which Sokka took to be annoyance, and Sokka could tell why. The air was hot and wet, and the ground sucked at his feet. It was a bog.

"Is that a suitable answer?" Katara asked.

"We should just get moving," Sokka said. "I want to get as much distance as we can by nightfall."

"Why?" Aang asked. "What happens at nightfall?"

"Don't you know what they say about swamps?" Katara asked.

"Night time is when the spirits of the drowned and lost come out, to drag you beneath the surface, never to be seen again," Sokka said, his tone bored and monotonous. "You know, basic spirit stuff."

"You're just saying that, aren't you," Aang said. "You're trying to scare me."

"No, that's really what they say," Sokka said. He frowned as something he stepped on released a noxious odor. "But I'm sure that that's just hearsay and rumors. They say those sorts of things about pretty much every swamp. This place is just where a whole lot of water collected and made it easy for trees to grow. Nothing. Else."

"It's not like the entire swamp is teeming with spirits trying to make us miserable," Katara said.

"Yeah," Aang said, sounding very dubious. "It's just rumors. Rumors and bugs."

* * *

Ty Lee felt her blood pooling in her head, but she didn't mind. She could be like this for hours, yet. With all of her weight balanced on two fingertips, she stood, upside down, on the frame of her hut. It had been a long time since Suki left. When she did, suddenly, Ty Lee very much felt alone in the town.

She had hoped that she would be able to help out the girls at the dojo, but unlike Suki, Zhen was not nearly as accomodating with her to hang around the Kyoshi Warriors as the woman she replaced was. Just like that, she was cut out of the the biggest set of friends she'd had. Time, once flying by, slowed to a crawl. She worked harder to keep her mobility up, practice her acrobatics, and wait for the circus to return.

How long had been since they left here here? It was going on two years, now. She didn't blame them. It was a one-in-a-million chance which left her stranded, but every day that they didn't come back, she started to worry a little bit more that she'd been abandoned. In a way, it was fitting with the way her life was going. She was born in a brood of seven, called the Miracle of Ember. Seven children from one pregnancy, and every one exactly the same. When she was quite young, it was fun, being able to trade identities as easily as a pair of pants. But then she grew up. She got sick of just being 'one of Baihu's girls'. She wanted to be herself. And the circus was a perfect opportunity for that to happen. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes as she heard somebody walking on the path outside her house. Her eyes went wide.

"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?" the Princess said. A wide smile grew on Ty Lee's face.

"AZULA!" she shouted, leaping off of the roof and sweeping the Fire Lord's daughter into a tight hug. "Oh, my gods, when did you get here? Why did you come here? What's that you're wearing? Why do you smell like smoke? Did you set somebody on fire? Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"Is that any way to greet the Crown Princess?" Azula asked. Ty Lee's eyes went wide, and she pirouetted away to prostrate herself before her ruler. "Oh, please rise. People might wonder."

"When did this happen? What happened to Zuko? Is he alright?" she asked.

"I forgot how many questions you could ask in two seconds," Azula said. She tilted her head to one side. "So tell me something, Ty Lee. How did the daughter of a Fire Nation noble house find herself on this little spit of land?"

"Well, it's kinda complicated," she said, tweezing her fingers together. "You see, there was an accident. I was up on the wire, balancing on one hand, when the safety net caught fire for some reason. And of course, that scared all the animals, who started to rampage. One of the fire-jugglers showed up drunk, and... well, long story short, I broke my arm, and they left me behind so I could heal without any more accidents."

Azula blinked.

"I'm just waiting until they come back to the coast and pick me up. They said that they'd be doing it months ago," she said.

Azula got a small smile on her face. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Ty Lee, but the circus entered Si Wong not long ago, and they're heading east. They won't be back here unless they go all the way around the world, first."

The disappointment was plain on Ty Lee's face. "But they said they'd come back."

"Sometimes people lie to people like you," Azula said. Suddenly, she smiled. "But I have something that you might be interested. A little... adventure... that I'd be be so very pleased if you'd aid me in."

"What is it?"

"You remember my uncle Iroh?" Azula asked. Ty Lee was already stretching and limbering herself as she listened.

"I remember him," She said, grinning broadly. "He was always so kind and funny."

"...Right. He and my brother Zuko are now fugitives from the Fire Nation. I need somebody like you to help me bring them to justice."

Ty Lee frowned. "I don't know, Azula. I mean, I made so many friends here. And my aura's never been pinker!"

Azula blinked. "Right. So many friends that the only person who's walked this path other than you is me?"

Ty Lee winced. She hated when Azula could do that. "Well, I made friends, but they all went away."

Azula smirked. "I see. Well, I wouldn't _dream_ of taking you away from the life you love so much. Have fun waiting for _all_ of your friends to come back."

Azula turned and began to walk away, but Ty Lee called out to her. "Azula, wait."

"Yes?"

"I'm thinking the universe is telling me that I've spent enough time on this island," she said. "I'm going to help you in your quest."

Azula's smirk grew larger. "I had a suspicion that you would."

"So, what do we do now? And how did you get here. Is that a Whalesh ship over there. Oooh, did you stow away on a Whalesh ship? Did you have to burn any of them, because I don't want you to do that in front of me," Ty Lee said.

"Remember what I always asked of you when we were young," Azula asked.

"One question at a time?" Ty Lee prompted. She quickly leaned into her hut and grabbed the bag holding all of her worldy possessions from where it had been sitting, undisturbed, for two years. "So. Why Whalesh?"

"Lack of options," she said.

"Where's your clothing?"

"I didn't feel like panicking the locals, and I was in too much of a hurry to burn the village down," Azula said. Ty Lee giggled at that.

"So are we going after them right now?"

"Not quite yet," Azula said, as the two moved through the streets. Her eyes took a predatory set. "We still need somebody else. An assassin's eyes, in somebody that I trust."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes," Azula said, smiling as she moved to the dark, metal ship. "We're getting the gang back together."

* * *

"It's getting dark, we should make camp, Aang," Katara said.

"How could you possibly tell it was dark?" Sokka complained.

"Guys, there's nowhere _to_ set up camp," Aang said as he hopped along the stumps. Katara herself stayed above the muck by freezing it under her feet. Only Sokka had to slog through the bog. And he was not happy about that.

"Let's just find a relatively high spot and sleep there," Sokka said. "I can't remember when my feet were dry."

"This morning," Aang said with a chuckle. Katara smiled. It was good to see Aang joking again, even if it was at about Sokka's level.

"Yeah, well it feels like it's been a lot longer," he turned to his sister with a goofy grin. She looked at it him, and let out a sharp scream. "AHH! WHAT?"

Aang turned. "What's wrong Ka– AHH!"

"What?" Sokka asked. Affixed to his neck was an enormous insect, hideous and still.

"Sokka, don't move," Aang said. He raised his staff.

"Aang, no! It might bite him! Or sting him!" Katara said.

"What might..." Sokka glanced down, out of the corner of his eye, and curled in on himself a bit. "Tui La! Get it off of me!"

Aang carefully aimed, then blasted a bolt of air at Sokka. It threw his hair out of its tail, but didn't dislodge the insect. Katara pulled some of the water up and made a blade of it, directing it toward the bug, but Sokka waved feebly.

"He's right, you might hit Sokka!" Aang said. He reached forward.

"Don't touch it! It's going to do something!"

"Well, I'm out of options! What do we do? Water isn't precise enough and air isn't strong enough!"

"HIT IT WITH A ROCK!" Sokka shouted.

"Stop yelling! It'll get angry and attack!" Aang said.

Above the panicking, the screaming, and the splashing around as the three tried to find a way to dislodge the parasite, the unending din of the swamp seemed to laugh at them. Then, out of the darkness, a lance of fire shot through the group, spearing the insect, before vanishing into a puff of smoke. Everybody stopped talking as one, dumbed by surprise.

"Aang?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah?"

"Was that you?"

"No, it wasn't."

Aang and Katara turned to where the fire came from. Impossible. They girded themselves for battle, like a well oiled machine, but the attack never came. There was just the cherruping of frogs, the calls of the birds and parrots. The moments stretched into minutes, ending when Appa groaned with impatience.

"Sorry, buddy. We just had a scare," Aang said, patting the beast. It grumbled, but then started to walk toward the place the fire came from. "Appa? Where are you going, buddy? Come back!"

Sokka was still in exactly the same position he was with the bug. "Is it gone?"

"Come on, Sokka, it's dead," Katara said. Then she was after Aang, who was following the bison through the swamp.

"What are you doing, Appa! It could be dangerous," he said. But the beast was slowly, but surely heading somewhere, and he didn't care if Aang wanted to follow or not. "Stop. Appa, stop!"

"Aang, shut up for a moment," Sokka said.

"Why don't you...?"

"Aang, I think I hear it," Katara confirmed.

Somewhere over the din of the swamp there came the twanging notes of music. Somebody was living in this swamp, playing the pipa in a slow, sad tune. Aang got an concerned look on his face, and nodded. Katara began to skate forward, past the Air Bison and hot on Aang's heels. They emerged from the swamp into a slightly higher, opener area with a tiny shack at its height. A man sang quietly as he played the instrument, watching a fire in front of him.

"Hello!" Aang said, waving an arm. "Do you live here?"

"Aang! What if he attacked us?"

"He didn't attack us," Aang said.

"Where did you guys go?" Sokka asked from his place well behind them.

"I can hear you out there," a man's voice came from the fire. He turned, regarding them briefly with grey eyes. Katara was concerned, but Aang, just like he always did, hopped forward and into view.

"Doesn't he realize that not every creepy stranger he meets in a forbidding swamp, at night, will be a friend?" Sokka asked, watching the situation.

"Leave him alone. He's an optimist."

"I don't often have people coming this deep into the swamp," the man said. He turned back, and started strumming again.

"Why are you living this far from Omashu?" Aang asked.

"My kind aren't welcome in Omashu anymore," the stranger said. He stopped plucking and poked the fire with a stick. "Come, sit. Dinner should be done soon, and nobody should have to sleep outside at night in the swamp."

"How does he do that?" Sokka asked.

"He's the Avatar. These things happen," Katara said. She walked into the clearing, with her brother not far behind her. The stranger took them in without a second glance, but when Appa lumbered into the expanse, he got to his feet, his hands in front of him.

"Don't worry," Aang said. "Appa's friendly. He's even a vegetarian like me."

"I'll take your word on that," the stranger said. He pulled the conical hat off of his head and set it aside; his hair was long and gray. "I could ask you what you're doing in the swamp. It's not a safe place for children. They say there are spirits around."

"Yeah, _they _do," Sokka said.

"What was that song you were singing? And what language was that?"

"That was Huojian," Aang said.

"I know a lot of songs from a lot of places," the stranger said. "I've spent the last few years traveling all over the world. I thought it might do me some good to spend a spell in one place."

"The song sounded so sad," Aang said.

"Appropriate," the stranger answered. "A few years ago... a decade, really, I had a brother. He died in the war. Now, every year on that anniversary, I play him a song to let him know that he's still remembered."

"How does it go?" she asked. He nodded, and then he sang a few bars of it in the Fire Nation tongue. After he did that, he switched, repeating it in Tianxia

"_Leaves on the vine / falling so slowly / like fragile, tiny shells / drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy / comes marching home. Brave soldier boy / comes marching home_."

The stranger looked at them, and Katara knew what he wanted. He started playing again, and when he began to sing, she joined with him. "_Leaves on the vine_," she sang. Aang joined in. "_Falling so slowly, like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam_."

_"Little soldier boy, comes marching home_," Sokka finally got in at the end. "_Brave soldier boy, comes marching home._"

As the night went on and the food cooked, they sang the song in rounds, letting the stranger's brother know, beyond any doubt, that he was remembered. When their voices ceased and the song drifted into the trees, the stranger wiped his eyes gently, and smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. You're more than welcome to spend the night here."

"That was beautiful," she said as she began to eat some of his stew. It was odd tasting, but edible. After quickly gulping down his portion, which probably should have burned him a bit, he stood and moved toward the west.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Hunting. I can't survive here on swamp-water alone," he said.

"Wait, you haven't told us your name!" Aang said.

"My name is Jee."

"I'm Aang."

"I know."

With that, the stranger named Jee left, and Katara looked around. The place had settled into a peaceful pace. The manic calls of animals from the daytime slowed to the rhythm of frogs and toads, the hooting of cat owls, and the gentle drone of water crickets. The place seemed genuinely peaceful, and Katara could understand why Jee felt he could call this place home.

"So, time to turn in?" Sokka asked. He looked inside the hut. "I call the bed!"

"Sokka, Aang should have the..." but it was too late. By the time she raised a complaint, he had already pulled his sleeping bag over him like a duvet and was on is way to sleep. Still, knowing that there would be a door between her an any of those neck-biters made Katara feel quite a bit better. She settled onto the floor.

"Aang?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you think that fire-blast came from?" she asked.

"I don't know. We'll have plenty of time to find out tomorrow. Goodnight, Katara. Goodnight, Sokka. Goodnight Appa," the Avatar said. When the lemur chirped from where it was curled up next to the door, Aang added. "Goodnight Momo."

Katara leaned back, and she dreamed of the cold, the planes of ice and snow. She dreamed of home.

"I'm sorry, but there isn't any choice..."

The voice pulled her awake in a heartbeat. She looked around, but Aang was still curled up on the floor, Momo sleeping on top of him. Sokka's light snoring gave him away. She looked out the door. Jee hadn't returned.

"I'll miss you more than anything..."

There it was again. She walked out into the clearing, looking at the softly glowing coals of the fire. It had been a few hours, at least. She felt positively wired, though. As though she'd been resting for days, and only now got up and started walking. She looked out into the swamp, and felt her feet start moving. She had to keep walking. If she stayed still, she knew it was going to drive her crazy. Besides, as long as she didn't go out of eyeshot from the clearing, she'd always be able to go back.

"Don't worry, Katara. No matter what happens, I'll be here..."

"Dad?" she said. She didn't know her geography like her brother, but Chameleon Bay wasn't too far away. Had he come south? Was he here? She followed his voice, across the waters, skating as her enthusiasm began to take hold of her. Passion ruled reason, and she dived away from all sight or sound of the hut and the clearing. The air became cool as she entered a large pool. She sunk down to her waist in it, and ahead, she could see somebody in the blue armor of a Tribesman.

"Dad, are you really here?" she asked.

"I've never been more proud of you, my little girl," Hakoda whispered. Her eyes filled with tears, and she ran to him, water spraying as she moved. She tried to hug him, but fell flat on her face. She looked back. She was alone. And alone, she wept.

* * *

"Wake up, twinkletoes!" the voice jolted Aang out of his sleep. Momo chattered peevishly when he sat up. For some reason, he felt positively riled. He sat up, looking around the room. Sokka still snored, but Katara wasn't sleeping where she was. Had she gotten up already? Was it morning? Maybe she just went to the bathroom or something.

He stuck his head out the door, and noted that there were still stars in the sky. He yawned, grabbing his staff and ambling next to the dead fire. The embers still glowed a bit, but there was no rekindling this fire. He stretched his legs and arms; sleeping on floors was seldom comfortable, but at least it protected him from the bugs. Some of which were trying to bite him even now. A quick blast of airbending, a protective sphere, smacked all the bugs away and served as fair warning.

"Are you just going to sit there and take that? Come on, twinkletoes!"

The voice called to him from the swamp. He didn't know how to explain it, but there was a familiarity to it. Like he'd heard it a thousand times before. And yet, not. It was a girl, probably no older than he was, but he couldn't place it. He stood up and faced the direction the voice had come from. He shook his head. "My mind must just be playing tricks on me. I might still be dreaming," he said. Then he slapped his face. "Ow! I guess not."

He could feel the energy inside him pulsing with every heartbeat. It called to him. He trusted in it and walked into the swamp. That voice. It was like he could remember it from another life, even though memories between lives was typically a super big no-no when it came to Avatars. Each had to walk their own path. That was kinda the point. He followed where the energy of the world led him.

"Do you think that friendships can transcend lifetimes?"

"Yes," he answered, even though the voice didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. "I know that they can."

He moved deeper. The bugs here flashed with brilliant light, searing away the darkness for a moment, before fading away into darkness. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye, but in an instant, it was gone. The swamp was silent here. He closed his eyes and sat on a large chunk of root. Waiting.

A wet sound pulled him around. There was a shape moving in the darkness, something massive, but ill defined. If only he'd brought a torch! Or was a firebender! That shambling shape moved closer, then stopped, and moved away. Strange. But then again, he was in a swamp, and he didn't have a lot of experience with swamps.

"ROCK LIKE!"

"AHH!" Aang shouted. Who was that? He leapt higher into the boughs, trying to see. There, a flash of white in the distance. He bounded toward it, airbending as easily as breathing. He landed on a branch, and heard laughter below him. He leaned down. A girl in a white dress was staring up at him. There was something strange about her eyes. Then, with a significantly less girly belly laugh, she ran off into the foliage. Following behind her on white wings was a Flying Boar.

"Wait! Who are you?" Aang shouted as he moved to where she had run. There was no sign of her. It was like she vanished into thin air. A wet sound came behind him. Something large. Something heavy. Something patient. He turned, just as the flare of a firefly illuminated the area.

It was huge. Easily five times the height of a man, made all of green, ropey sinews, and it lashed out at him. He dodged out of the way easily enough, but its attacks were bizarre. It seemed to make arms as it needed to, and Aang quickly found himself pressed back, twirling his staff to keep the vines that shot forth at bay.

"_What is wrong?_" he shouted in Uou. "_Tell me what has you so angry!_"

The thing slowed, its upper portion, somewhat like a head, tilted. Then it began to gesture again, and this time, the trees Aang was standing on began to warp and wrap, trying to hem him in. "_Please, I only want to help you! I'm the Avatar!_" he shouted. But the spirit didn't want to listen to him. He blasted it with airbending, a useless gesture, because spirits couldn't be bent. But it was. It was blown back a bit. Not a spirit. Not sure what to do, but certain he didn't want to bring this... whatever it was... back to his friends, he leapt away into the swamp.

* * *

Sokka dreamed. And he loved the dream. Once, he dreamed of Dad coming home, or that the Southern Tribe never fell, became degenerate. He would dream that he was a powerful warrior, and that he was the most popular man in the city, that he would have the choice of any woman who caught his eye. He was an idiot back when he dreamed those things, especially when he started dreaming like this.

"I don't want to go," Sokka said. Yue smiled at him, in that confidential, quiet way she did. She was always so kind, so soothing.

"You have to," she said. "They need you."

"I don't want to wake up," he said, turning away. "I just want to stay here, forever."

"Sokka, you know you can't. And even if you could, you wouldn't. You care too much about the people around you, even when you're being a sarcastic twit," she chuckled. It was good to hear her laugh, free and unburdened by everything her culture had saddled her with in life. "It's what made me love you."

"Just a little longer, then?"

"Wake up, Sokka," she said. He opened his eyes, to the chorus of churruping frogs and creaking crickets. He swung his feet out of the bed, prepared to apologize to his sister, but she wasn't there. And neither was Aang. He got up, making sure his machete was riding his hip. He glanced outside. Momo was prodding the firepit with a twig, even though the coals had gone completely black. Lemur see, lemur do. Sokka stretched, expecting sunlight to find its way down, but in the sky, there were still stars. Weird. He felt rested. Momo landed on his shoulder and tugged on his ear, chattering.

"Yeah, I know, you're full up on bugs and everybody left you behind," Sokka said. "I know the feeling. I'm just glad I didn't ask what was in the soup."

With a lemur as his only companion, he walked out of the clearing. "So, what's so important that it had to interrupt private time with Yue?" he asked. Flashing fireflies brightened the night to the point where he could see where he was going. In the air, though, he heard a humming of song. It struck his heart in a way that few things did. It was a song he hadn't heard since he was eight.

He began to run, following that song as it drifted lazily through the swamp. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. And at the same time, the part of him which was always skeptical was being shouted down by the part of him which desperately, almost psychotically wanted this to be real. He entered a large pool of water, sinking to his thighs in it. And at the middle of the pool, humming that tuneless song which was always similar but never the same, a lullaby for colic-y little Sokka, was Kya. Mom. He stumbled forward, his feet not quite making it over the many things hiding in the murk. "Mom?" he asked. He reached out. Her hair, long and loose, bound only in its loops on the side, shifted. He touched her shoulder. She turned to face him, eyes full of tears.

They weren't his mother's eyes. They were Katara's. "What's going on, here?" Sokka asked. "What happened to Mom?"

"Mom? I saw Dad," she said. She wiped her eyes quickly, as though embarrassed to let Sokka see her this way. "It must be this swamp. Playing tricks on our minds."

"Ordinarily, I'd be the first to blame swamp gas and food poisoning, but I can see you and I don't feel sick to my stomach," he said. He looked around. "Where's Aang."

"What? You mean he's not back at the hut?" she asked.

"No, and Jee hasn't returned either," both sets of eyes locked, a horrifying possibility occuring to both. "You don't think he's kidnapped Aang, do you?"

"Why would he do that?" Katara asked.

Sokka was about to give a reason, when he saw a log move, directly toward Katara. He leaned over, and beheld a maw of sharp, pointy teeth. "Look out!" he said, throwing his little sister to the side. The swamp gator just changed targets snapping at Sokka. He smashed it in the face with his machete, but its hide was too thick. This beast was enormous.

"Sokka, stand back!" she said, wheeling her arms and freezing the water around it. With a twist, it shattered the water and turned on Katara. Sokka was having none of that, so he leapt onto its back, clubbing it with his otherwise useless blade. It bucked, sending him crashing into the water next to his sister. It screwed up its tail and began to surge forward. Katara's eyes went wide, even as she summoned a wall of ice. It plowed right through. Its maw opened impossibly wide.

Then, out of the trees, a figure in dark browns and greens dropped onto the monster's back. He brought up a hand, and a blade of pure fire came into being. He drove it down into the gator's back, and it flailed briefly, before becoming still. "One less man-eater in the swamp," Jee said. He looked at them. "Are you going to help me get this back to my hut?"

"You're a firebender!" Katara said.

"Once," he said.

"What did you do with Aang!" Sokka impugned. Jee scowled.

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen him since I left the clearing," Jee said.

"You're lying! You captured him, and you're going to send him to the Fire Lord!" Sokka countered.

Jee's scowl grew. "And why would I do that? I'm already twice a traitor. If I were to bring the Avatar to Ozai, hog-tied and wrapped with a pretty bow on his bald head, it would be so they could watch my execution together," he said.

"Wait, how did you know Aang was the Avatar?"

"I know a lot of things."

"He's lying to us," Sokka said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, just because I'm a firebender, absolutely nothing honest can come out of my mouth?" Jee asked.

"Yes!" Sokka said. Then he realized what Jee had said. "I mean no! I mean, don't try to confuse me with your logical circularities!"

"Wait, why were you out here? Don't you know the swamp is dangerous at night?" Jee asked.

"I thought I heard Dad," Katara said quietly.

"I thought I saw Mom," Sokka said. He decided that Yue would be best left out of things.

"Then I wonder what the Avatar saw," Jee said. Momo chattered briefly, then flew away, no doubt seeking some place less tense than here. Jee tilted his head, and his scowl returned. He was often a man to scowl, it seemed.

"Hue?" he said. "I think your friend has run afoul of the natives. Come on!"

And just like that, Sokka realized, he was following a firebender who was trying to save the Avatar's life.

* * *

This was getting absurd. That thing was traveling at a speed which should be impossible for something that big, especially in this terrain. Aang only managed to move as he did because his long vaults could avoid most of it. But the beast, it just plowed through, ignoring anything that got in its way. He twisted in the middle of one of his jumps and used his staff to hurl a blade of air at it, slow it down. Give him a bit of breathing room.

All it did was knock off a superfluous limb. Not a spirit. But it obviously held hostile intentions. He tried another jump, but this time, the tree caught his foot and slammed him into the water, knocking the air from his lungs. He bent it back in. "I don't want to hurt you!" he shouted. "Just tell me what you want!"

It reached forward with its limbs, hundreds of vines crawling toward Aang. He furiously bent water and air into razors which slashed at anything coming close, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Then, a great ring of water tore through the beast from behind. A chunk of it slipped off and fell into the water. The beast began to lash out in both directions at once.

"Katara?" he asked. And she was there. Bending the water with a proficiency which actually made Aang look like something of an amateur. Blade upon blade, rising up out of the water and scissoring the creature, which didn't seem to slow it down very much. Still, it was far more effective than what Aang was trying.

With a scream and a leap, Sokka flung himself at the thing from above, hacking into the vines with his machete. All that it earned him was a fast trip to the water. It held him under, prompting Aang to skate forward on the ice he made as he needed it, and airbend a bubble around Sokka's head, so he wouldn't drown. But now, he was surrounded on all sides by hostile vegetation. Aang watched in horror as she prepared another blade, but this time, a single bundle of vines reached through her defense and caught her arms, dragging her in. She couldn't waterbend, bound as she was. No. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't. He felt something coming perilously close. No. Not the Avatar State. Please, not now...

"HUE!" a shout came from the woods. "_Stop this! They mean you no harm!_"

The shock pulled the Avatar State mercifully away from where it was about to overwhelm Aang. The words were in Whalesh, a language he'd learned on a lark when he was still bending breezes. Aang looked up. The assault had ended, and Sokka had been released from his drowning position. It stopped reeling Katara in. Jee approached the beast.

"_You can stop with the theatrics Hue. These people aren't trying to take you away. They pose no threat to you_," Jee said.

"_There are many threats to my kind,_" this thing, Hue, said back. Jee looked at the thing condescendingly.

"_This boy is the Avatar, Hue. Trust me, he's not going to harm you,_" Jee said.

"The Avatar?" the voice said. Then, the beast was falling apart, green tangles slipping apart. Inside was a Whaleshman, his hair pale as flax, his features broad. "I'm sorry. I thought you were sent to find us. Destroy our people."

"I didn't even know your people existed," Aang said. He paused. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I think I know," Katara said, rubbing her wrists. "A long time ago, during Gran-gran's time, there were waterbenders not just in the Poles, but in Great Whales as well. But they were purged, just like the South. I thought you had all been wiped out."

"Not wiped out," Hue said. "Hidden. Anybody we find who can waterbend is sent here, to protect them from the Fire Nation. Anybody born here who can't waterbend is sent back. It keeps both societies safe. The Fire Nation sees Great Whales as no threat, and we still maintain our cultural heritage."

"Imagine my surprise," Jee said. "Decades trying to make sure we weren't surrounded on all sides by waterbenders, and they were hiding on the East Continent all along," he shook his head slowly. "But that's not my problem anymore."

"Hold on, you're fugitive waterbenders, and you just let a firebender walk around unimpeded?" Sokka asked. Hue shrugged.

"He's good at keeping secrets, and he's got plenty of reasons to stay clear of the Fire Nation," Hue said.

"You're a firebender?" Aang asked.

"I am. I'm surprised you didn't recognize me," he said. He occluded part of his beard with his hand and put on a deep scowl. Sokka gasped.

"You're part of Zuko's crew!" he shouted.

"I _was_ part of _Iroh's_ crew," Jee corrected.

"Does that mean you can help us?" Aang asked.

"Aang!" Sokka said.

"No. Can you help me learn how to firebend?" Aang asked.

"Don't you need to learn how to earthbend first?" Katara asked.

"I don't know," Jee said. "I've never been much of a firebender. Iroh was more skilled, and even Zuko was stronger."

"But you're here. Are you willing?" Jee stared at the Avatar for a moment, before making a salute, the heel of one flat, upright hand resting upon the knuckles of the other fist.

"I can't show you much. But I can do something."

"Why would you do that?" Sokka asked.

"Because," Jee said quietly. "I just want this war to be over. It's the only way I get to go home. And the Avatar is the only way that's going to happen."

"What about those vines?" Katara asked. "How did you control them?"

Hue smiled at her, wide and easy. "It's just a waterbending trick, learning how to bend the water inside the living plants. It's pretty basic, once you understand the fundamentals of it. Come on. I'm sure you can grasp it."

Sokka looked between the Whaleshman instructing his sister, and the firebender instructing Aang, and then down at his own machete. Momo flew in and landed on his head. "Right. Nothing for Sokka. As usual."

* * *

"Watch where you're going, old man!" the burly fellow said, shoving Iroh to the ground. Zuko's anger ignited instantly, but Iroh put on a kindly smile. "You better stay down there. Damned refugees, taking up all the food and space for the real workers."

"Uncle," Zuko said. "Are you just going to take that?"

"Please, forgive my nephew," Iroh said. "He is a man of understandably short temper."

"Oh, is he?" the man said, turning to face Zuko. He tossed the chest he'd slung onto his back to one side. It landed heavily. "Well, then I won't feel quite so bad about this."

The punch was sloppy and slow. Zuko broke it with a punch of his own, right into the man's gut. He recoiled a bit. Iroh looked a bit alarmed. Zuko didn't see why. There wasn't anybody else around for miles. "You shouldn't have picked a fight with an old man. Have you no honor?" Zuko demanded.

"Talk of honor from a peon?" the thug asked. He tried to punch Zuko again, but just as before, Zuko interrupted his punch with one of his own. It felt like he was toying with the man. The man only had one move, an easily predictable punch, which Zuko never failed to counter. It didn't take long to wear the thug down, and finally deliver a kick to the jaw of the brute, sending him down.

"Savages," Zuko said, rolling the man over and pocketing his money.

"Zuko, what are you doing?"

"He tried to kill you," Zuko said. "He should be glad I'm only taking his money."

"Zuko, please. There is a simple dignity in poverty. Do not resort to becoming a bandit."

"Why not?" Zuko asked. He tipped the chest back onto its base and smashed off the lock with a rock. "It's not like we've got anything else anymore. We might as well..."

"Who in the Hells are you?" a voice came to him. Strange, glazed green eyes stared up at him from inside the chest. It was a girl, probably a bit younger than Azula. She sat up in the chest. It was a very tight fit.

"What are you doing in there?" Zuko asked.

"I'm asking the questions around here," the girl said, and with a flick of her wrists, the road reached up and slammed him into the embankment on the other side. When the dust cleared, she was getting out of the box. She was filthy, and she didn't look at him when she spoke. She didn't look at anything, really. "Oh, great. You knocked out my cretin and broke my box. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for an idiot like him to steal me?" she demanded.

"I humbly apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused," Iroh said.

"Yeah, stow it. Now I've got to come up with a new plan and find some new witless lackeys to carry it out," she walked over to Zuko, and without a glance, she opened up the rock holding him motionless and took the money purse right out of his pocket. "I'll be taking that."

"Give that back, you little witch!" Zuko shouted.

"I'm sorry, was that an order?" the girl laughed. As she walked away, her bare feet padding against the soil, she slugged Iroh in the arm. "See you around, old man."

"I'm looking forward to it," Iroh said. After she had just about vanished around a curve, the stone released and Zuko slumped to the path. He surged after her, but Iroh got in his way. "What an interesting little girl. We should leave, Zuko. Let the girl go."

"But..."

"There is a town ahead. We could find work there, maybe sleep under a roof tomorrow."

"But she..."

"Come along, nephew," Iroh said, an easy smile on his face. "I wonder if they'll be willing to let an old man have a cup of tea."

Zuko snorted, looking at the path the girl went. A gout of flame came out of his nostrils, then he turned and followed his uncle. Someday, Iroh was going to be the death of him.

* * *

Aang happily played with the fire in his hands, rolling it around and making it flare, even as Katara rolled a loop of vines along the thinning floor of the swamp. Once again, today, Sokka scowled and sighed. He felt like a bit of a millstone, weighing the group down. They were so powerful and him? He was sarcastic and had a boomerang. That was pretty much it. Jee continued, showing them the way out of the swamp. "So how much longer is it going to be?"

"Not far, now," Jee said. "Although I don't know why you didn't just fly over. It would have been much faster."

"There was an army camped to the north of Omashu," Aang said, letting the fire die. "We need to get to the city without them seeing us."

Jee stared at them for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess you've got a reason for that," he said. "You might not like Omashu when you see it though."

"Why not?" Sokka said, as he finally ducked out of the trees and into the light. He climbed up the small hillock and turned to them. "I mean, Aang will have his earthbending teacher, he'll have mastered all four elements, and he'll be ready to face the Fire Lord. Everybody wins, right?"

"I wouldn't say I've mastered firebending, Sokka," Aang said. "I've only taken my first steps."

"And we still don't know what that business in the swamp was," Katara said. "All those things that we saw..."

"Oh, that's simple," Sokka said. "The swamp is one of those places the spirit world and ours' touch. They must have been visions of the things we think we've lost."

Everybody stared at him, agog. He, Sokka, eternally the skeptic, jumped right onto a spiritual answer. He shrugged. "What? I've been to the Spirit Oasis. I can call them when I see them. Besides, you can stop your complaining. We've finally reached the impenetrable city of O–" Sokka trailed off when he turned and looked over the crest. Red standards drifted in the winds, dangling off the city's walls. Black smoke filled the air, and siege engines had built many iron bridges into the city, where once there was only one, earthen one. Sokka felt some of his vigor drain. "Oh no."

The Fire Nation had taken Omashu.


	3. New Ozai

**This is one of the set-points which had to be preserved, in my mind, to make sure that narrative integrity was maintained. In other words, crap don't make sense unless this happens. There are a couple of points which necessarily have to happen, for story reasons. The rest is up in the air. You'll see just how up in the air they are next chapter.**

**Oh, and to clear up something I probably should have mentioned long ago. Whalesh. It's not Way-lesh: It's Waylsh. Just something that occured to me.**

* * *

"This is horrible," Aang said, looking at the state of Omashu. Once, it had been the unassailable pillar of strength for the southern Earth Kingdoms, unshakable and unconquerable under King Bumi. Now, it was just another victory for the Fire Lord.

"I told you you wouldn't like it," Jee said. He turned the Avatar to face him. "I don't know what you want in Omashu, but believe me, it's probably not worth the trouble."

"It is," Aang said. "Even if I didn't need him to teach me earthbending, I wouldn't ever turn away from him."

Jee sighed. "Then be it on your own head. But remember, I may have taught you everything I know, but it isn't much. Don't get arrogant. Arrogance pulls defeat from the jaws of victory."

"You're just going to go back to hiding?" Sokka asked. Jee shrugged.

"Not like I have much of a choice," he said. "What do you want me to do? Walk back into the Fire Nation incognito and bring down the government from the inside?"

"Why not?"

Jee just stared at the boy for a long moment, before shaking his head and walking away, back into the concealing boughs of the swamp. Aang turned back to the city, though. He had other things to worry about. Like...

"So how are we going to get into that city?" Katara asked. Aang cast his eyes downward for a moment.

"Well, I know a way in. Me and Bumi used to use it when we got into trouble and I needed a way out."

"Well, that's great!" Sokka said. "If you could use it to invisibly get out, then we can use it to get invisibly in."

"Yeah, there's one little problem, and you'll see it when we get there."

With that, the gang set out upon the hilly walk. It was just as well that they'd come upon the south of Omashu; the way that Aang needed to go was well away from the earthen road to the east. As they walked, Sokka just kept talking about plans and contingencies, a thousand things which could go wrong, and knowing Sokka's luck, probably would. Once again, Aang was happy that Sokka was on his side. Then again, if Sokka was his enemy, he didn't know if he'd have been able to survive. Zuko, persistent though he was, wasn't a fraction of the planner Sokka was.

"And if the firebenders are waiting at the third level, too, then she's going to have to draw out water from the rain barrels I saw last time," Sokka rattled on, but Katara was already rolling her eyes and ignoring him. Aang brought them to a halt at the edge of the cliff, a ravine out of which Omashu arrogantly thrust itself, a single point of monumental height against the canyons and mountains around it.

"Alright. Everybody onto Appa," Aang said. They'd walked this far because he didn't dare risk the Fire Nation seeing him swoop in. But now, he didn't have any other option. The gang piled onto the Bison, which flew down to one of the lower sewage ways. Sokka observed the path Aang had led them to.

"Wait, this was your way in?" he asked.

"Can you tell why I didn't use it the first time?" Aang asked. He squeezed himself through the bars, waterbending the filth around him. "Appa, stay out of trouble, alright buddy?"

Appa let out a low bellow. Momo flew toward the pipe, but then let out a disgusted shriek and just flapped its way upward. He would meet them in the city. Sokka just stared as Katara joined Aang in the pipe, making her own bubble of filthless pipe.

"And once again, I'm going to be the filthy one," he said, clambering up. If only Sokka knew how right he was.

* * *

Zuko was hungry. He didn't like the feeling. His uncle sat next to him, a wide grin on his face as he held out his hat to passersby. Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and the Dragon of the West, reduced to beggars on the street. This was beyond humiliating.

"_We shouldn't be doing this,_" Zuko hissed. "_These people should be bowing in awe._"

"Nephew, please, remember to use your words," Iroh said. "There is little work for itinerants. We will have to find means wherever we can."

"But we could just take it from them," Zuko said. "They're weak and slow, and fat with rich oils. It would be so easy..."

"NO!" Iroh said. His gaze was fierce for a moment, before he took a calming breath, and a more considerate look settled onto him. "I understand that you're hungry, and that you're frustrated by how poor this day has been for us. But you must resist the urge to fall to your impulses. It is only in restraint that we stand able to receive the sweetest gifts."

"I've had enough of your stories," Zuko said, harshly and quietly. "I've had enough of your riddles and your little anecdotes. I want _food_."

Iroh nodded slowly. He tipped out the sparse coins in his hat into one hand and handed the whole lot to Zuko. Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Take it. Find yourself something to eat. You're still growing; you need it more than I do."

"Uncle, I didn't..."

"Please, don't make an old man beg," Iroh said. Then he paused. "Any more than I am right now, anyway."

Zuko stared at the ground for a moment, before closing his hands around the coins. "Thank you, Uncle," he said, getting to his feet. Iroh just smiled that light, airy way he did, and held his hat out again.

"A spare coin, miss?" he asked.

"Oh, you sweet old man," she said, throwing down a copper piece.

"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your lovely smile," Iroh said. She walked away laughing lightly, and blushing a little. Weird. Iroh was twice as old as she was. Zuko walked away. He did _not_ envy his uncle's way with women. Even though he himself had never made women giggle or blush. Nowadays, they looked at him, they saw the scar, and they turned away. Whispers followed behind his back. Disgust and fear. He felt a heat licking at him. A call to violent rampage. But he knew he would have to ignore it. Uncle needed him. And he needed food.

He walked to a vendor, looking at their offerings. No rice. How long had it been since he'd had a proper meal of rice and fish? Too long. Instead, he took some bread and slivers of jerky. It was a poor meal, but he was starving. He hadn't eaten in an entire day. Strange, how those things seemed to sneak up on a person. As the shop keeper laid out the food, a thick fingered hand closed on it, intent to grab it away. Zuko clasped his own hand over the wrist, first.

"Are we going to have a problem little peas..." a familiar voice came, but halted. Zuko tipped his hat onto his back. "You. You little thief! I knew I'd find you again."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko said. But he was lying. He knew this oversized bully. Now, he wore a sword at his hip. No, it was a pair of dao. Had Zuko's beating shaken him so much? The thought brought a smirk to Zuko's lips. "I've never seen this man before in my life."

"You robbed me!"

"Let go of my food."

The thug got a violent look in his eyes. Zuko knew that look; it was one he was trained to spot from the day he was born. This man was going to try to kill him. "You're going to regret the day you messed with Giandu!"

Inside, Zuko was smiling.

Giandu fought with the dao like he did with his fists; overpowering swings which were slow, predictable, and easy to counter. But Zuko didn't counter. He just got out of the way every time this idiot struck, falling back over and over, letting the man cause more and more damage to the stalls, letting the cry go out louder and louder. In less than a minute, the town guard was racing toward him, spears bristling around the two men. Only then did Giandu stop.

"Finally," he shouted. He pointed at Zuko. "Arrest that thief!"

"That sword wielding maniac is destroying our businesses!"

"MY CABBAGES!"

"I don't know who this man is," Zuko lied.

"You took my money!"

"The only money I have I spent on food," he said, pointing at the vendor a short distance away. He could see why Azula enjoyed this so much. Sometimes, it was just too easy. The men pressed Zuko aside and surrounded Giandu. He could have shaved himself with a sneeze.

"You're going to have to come with us. Drop your weapons," the guards said. Giandu stared hatefully at Zuko, but he just smirked. Too easy. He threw his weapons down, and the guards began to shackle him. With the scene now dissolving into business as usual, Zuko slipped a bit closer, and grabbed the weapons before anybody noticed, wrapping them in a bolt of burlap. He grabbed his food, and moved back to his uncle.

"Did you enjoy your food?" Iroh asked. Zuko put on a small smile.

"More than you know," he said, keeping the swords behind him. He'd have to find a sheath, but that would be easy. He sat and watched as his uncle begged for money, and he ate what little food he could afford. And in his mind, he thought of some way, somehow, of getting the Avatar. Of getting his honor back. Nothing else mattered.

* * *

It was a great relief when Aang blew the cover off the manhole. He glanced around. He even managed to get right to where he wanted, close enough to the palace that it wouldn't be an arduous trek, far enough that he wouldn't have to go through the _really_ disgusting sewage. Katara followed him out, and like he, she was spotless. After a long moment, a green and slimy arm flopped out of the hole, and heaved a dripping, oozing, green-brown protuberance. Katara let out a yelp of fear, and quickly waterbent a gush of water from a barrel at it. The water splashed the gunk off of her brother.

"_Alright, it's official. For the first time in my life, I have completely lost my appetite,_" Sokka said.

"_Sokka, what's that on your face?_" Katara asked. Three purple things were still clinging to him. He felt them, and began to tear at them, trying to rip them off in panic.

"_WHY DO THINGS KEEP ATTACHING TO ME?_" Sokka shouted in his mother tongue.

"Calm down, Sokka, don't pull on them. They'll tear," Aang reached out and gently rubbed on the back of the tiny creature. After a few seconds, the five tentacles surrounding its small, bulbous body curled back, and he pulled it off. It still left lines of red dots on his flesh, though. "It's a purple pentapus," he said. "They live all over the place, anywhere there's flowing fresh water."

"_They obviously hold a different definition of fresh than we do,_" Sokka said. Then he began to rub another one until it let go. Aang got the last one off, the one Sokka was tearing at. It was a little more nervous, but a little rubbing and gentle persuasion and it was off, and back down into the sewer.

"_Now we need to find out where they're keeping Bumi,_" Katara said. "_Do you have any ideas?_"

"We should check the high ground," Aang said. "If nothing else, we'll see where everybody else is."

"Hey! You children there!" a call came. All three froze. Aang took a quick moment to wrap a towel over his head, before facing the source. Three Fire soldiers were standing at the mouth of the alley. "What are you doing out so late?"

"What?" Katara asked.

"There's a curfew on, and we can't have children wandering about. It isn't safe," the soldier said. He sounded remarkably reasonable. Katara glanced at her brother, and then turned to them.

"We were just out looking for a doctor. My brother is sick. With Pentapox," she said.

"Pentapox?" the soldier asked. Sokka picked up on the gag, and began to shamble toward them.

"It's highly contagious," Katara said. Sokka began to cough and wheeze.

"Ooooh, it's so horrible. I'm dying!"

"And deadly."

"I think I've hear of Pentapox," one of the other soldiers said, fear in his voice. "Chen, didn't your cousin die of that?"

"Let's get out of here," the last said. "I need to wash my hands."

"And burn my clothes," the leader said, and like that, they were all leaving as fast as a Fire Nation soldier could. After they left, Sokka began to chortle, then outright laugh. Aang couldn't help but join him.

"How did you think of that?" Aang asked. Katara smiled broadly.

"I asked myself 'what would Sokka do'?" she said. Aang looked up, and saw a black and white form flit up to the higher levels. Momo had the right idea.

"Come on. We need to find my friend," Aang said, as he began to vault into the sky.

* * *

"You cannot possibly fathom my hatred for this place," Mai said flatly as she walked along the ramparts. The 'palace', such as it was, was still under construction, and large parts of the city still seemed to cling to their pre-war usages. Channels and hideous stonework abounded. Somebody was going to have to set that straight. Her mother, walking with Tahm-Tahm in her arms tutted.

"You shouldn't be so negative, Mai. Ever since your father was appointed governor, this place has become like a home to us."

"Yeah. 'Like a home'," Mai said. She didn't know why her mother insisted she came along. Ruo, the aged firebender behind them, was more than adequate to the task of keeping the family safe. "Agni's blood, I thought my life in the Fire Nation was boring, but his place is unbearably bleak. When was the last time somebody had the decency of openly trying to kill us?"

"Mai, don't say such things. You invite bad luck," she snapped. Mai sighed, but didn't really care. After that miraculous message intended for the king, stark raving mad though he was, she hadn't heard any word at all. There were wanted posters with Iroh's and Zuko's face on them, but other than that, nothing. No word where he could be, if he was safe. If he was warm. "Besides," Mother said, her tone something Mai assumed was maternal. "We're treated like royalty here."

"There's that word 'like' again," Mai said. She heard a rumbling from above. "How much longer until the Fire Lord just forgets about us completely, do you think?"

"Mai!" Mother chastised. Mai glanced upward, and her eyes grew wide as she spotted a figure above. There was a hint of motion, then a great stone exploded above, raining down detritus onto the ramparts. Mai's mother turned, sheltering Tahm-Tahm, and shouted. "Assassins!"

"On it," Mai said. Ruo was already putting herself between the would be assassin and Mai's mother, and hurling bolts of green fire at him. It just slowed him down. Good. Mai was used to being fast, and slow opponents never got away. She sprang up the scaffolding two poles at a time, getting up to where he had hidden himself like a sniper. "Stay where you are, and I won't have to kill you," she said, her voice loud with the taste of excitement she got from actually having something to do.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you!" the answer came back. Mai slowed for a moment. What sort of assassin didn't try to hurt people? And still failed. She decided it was just a stall tactic, and answered by launching a barrage of flechettes at him. He twirled his staff, and they all somehow missed their mark. Impossible. The soldiers were trying to get up to his level, but a figure in blue began to gesture, and a whip of water began to smash them to back to the ramparts. Waterbenders and assassins? What an unusual day.

May changed tactic, pulling out a heavy, balanced knife and hurling it at the assassin. The assassin snapped his staff up, and the knife embedded into it. Damnation! Now she was going to have to replace that one. At least, that's what she thought, until he pulled it out, threw it aside, and began to run. Another figure, also in blue, was shouting something in Yqanuac in the distance. Three assassins, at least two of them Tribesmen. She didn't stop running, but the first assassin moved somehow much faster. He shot past a construction zone, and she chased him with a flurry of arrows. The waterbender made a shield which caught them, before retreating. The assassin made a gesture with his staff, and the entire array of scaffolds collapsed, trapping her on the other side with no fast or easy way across. She hurled the last of her arrows at the assassins, but quick as a blink, they all vanished from sight.

Mai stared at the scene for a moment, then let out an annoyed sigh. This night had such potential. She turned and walked away; the assassins had made good their escape. Two Tribesmen, one of them a known waterbender, and an earthbender. The resistance was outsourcing. That was an irritating thought. She walked back to her mother, below. "They're gone," Mai said.

"Did you capture them?"

"Am I carrying them?" Mai asked.

"Mai! Don't be sarcastic! It's unladylike," Mother said.

"Yes, Mother."

"But they're gone?"

"For the moment, Mother," Mai said.

"Good. I'm going back to my rooms. The night is too dangerous."

"Whatever."

Mai considered following her mother, but the route to this rampart was long and she didn't feel like 'seeing the sights of a new Omashu' twice in one night. Instead, she went down the face of the palace, catching a pole and swinging into the window of her father's study, below. He looked up in alarm as she landed in his private room.

"Mai, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Somebody tried to kill Mom," Mai said offhandedly. "They got away."

"Oh, that's the last thing I need," Father said. "I've just gotten reports of a Pentapox outbreak in the city!"

"Pentapox?" Mai asked. "Really?"

"Yes! Didn't that wipe out an entire village in Ember a few years ago?" he asked. She just stared at him.

She shrugged, neither caring nor wanting to seem like she did. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

"Where are we?" Aang asked. Sokka held off from offering the obvious answer. The sewer. Considering the sewage and pipes and whatnot, it couldn't be clearer. He rubbed his backside, where he'd landed after his unexpected fall.

"You're in the headquarters of the resistance," a large-bearded citizen said. "From here, we coordinate every one of our attacks and raids against the Fire Nation."

"How long have you been down here?" Katara asked. "When did they Fire Nation invade?"

"They invaded more than a year ago," the citizen said. He earthbent steps for them to walk on, instead of having to move through the filth. It was a welcome change. Sokka did the math, though. That meant that Omashu had been invaded maybe a month after Aang left.

"What happened? Where's King Bumi?" Aang asked.

"We don't know," he answered. "But it's his fault we even need to live down here, in the muck and filth. When the Fire Nation came, we had the supplies to last out years of siege. But even as their war machines reached our gates, Bumi threw open the doors and surrendered. I never understood why he would do such a thing."

"Bumi surrendered?" Aang asked. He shook his head. "That isn't possible!"

"Perhaps not, but regardless, it happened," the citizen said. The sewer opened up into an area which had obviously been repurposed recently. This one was a living area, well above and away from the sewage. Whole families lived here. Sokka was annoyed. This wasn't right.

"So why are you still fighting?" Sokka asked, his anger showing. "They outnumber you, they have better weapons, their soldiers are everywhere, and if you do anything big, they can take out their anger on your families."

"Sometimes the hardest thing to do is walk away," Aang said. "As long as you keep fighting this way, you're playing to your enemy's strengths. But if you walk away, when you fight them again, you'll have initiative and you can choose your battles. Here, your battles are already chosen for you."

"But we have to fight for our city!" the citizen said. One of the others nearby didn't look so convinced.

"I don't know, Gong," he said. "Living to see another day is starting to sound really good, right about now."

"Yeah," another piped up. "People are starting to get sick down here. And I hear there's some sort of plague up on the surface. How long before it gets down here, with all of us packed together?"

Sokka chuckled at that, rubbing the marks which had just about faded. Gong turned to Aang. "If we were to leave, we'd have to get everybody out safely. We all have families and friends that we can't afford to leave behind. How are we supposed to get that many people out of the city at once without raising Fire Nation suspicions?"

Aang didn't know, and Katara looked at Sokka. Why were they looking at him? Was he the only one who could come up with a solution to weird problems like this? That was always the way. Everything got stuck to his face, and every time, he was the one who came up with... "SUCKERS!" Sokka yelled.

"What?" Gong asked.

Sokka got a wide grin. "Tonight, everybody in the city is going to come down with a nasty case of Pentapox," he turned to his sister. "Do you think you can scrounge up a couple buckets of pentapus?"

"I can help!" Aang said, and like that, the two were off. Gong stared at Sokka.

"That plague up on the surface?" he said. "I'm patient zero."

"WHAT?" Gong asked. Sokka made a placating gesture.

"Don't worry, it's not a real disease. Just some surprisingly quick thinking in the part of my sister..."

"Hey!" Katara said, and she threw her first pentapus at Sokka's head. He ducked and it hit the man standing behind him. The man shouted and tried to pull it off.

"Calm down, just rub its back," Sokka said, to all the world as though he were an expert in these sorts of things. After a few moments of rubbing, the creature released its grip, and left behind those raised, red bumps in five straight lines. "See? Now do that a few more times, and you've got all the external symptoms of Pentapox."

"So it's a bluff?" Gong asked.

"My favorite kind; disgusting and hilarious!" Sokka laughed. He leaned over and handed a pentapus to a woman nearby. "Stick this on ya'. I bet you do 'sick' very well."

"Oh, you," she laughed, sticking it on her neck.

"Sokka, stop trying to flirt with the soldiers," Katara said from the channel.

Sokka rolled his eyes. He turned to the people, who were now passing the pentapus amongst themselves and getting truly marked up. "Now remember, those marks only last a few hours. And if we're really going to fool the Fire Nation, you need to sell it. Everybody, pretend that you're so sick, you're about to fall over and die."

"Like this?" the first dissenter said, shambling around and acting miserable. Sokka stroked his imaginary beard, and shook his head.

"No, you really can't go over-the-top on this. Really, you're in pain, your life is flashing before your very eyes. This is Pentapox! The Spirits' revenge on a world fallen into decay and immorality!"

"Ooohh Ohhh, the pain, the unending, unmitigated paaaaain!" the woman wailed, falling against Sokka. She grinned up at him.

"Wow. You're really something. Have you ever considered becoming an actress?" Sokka asked.

"SOKKA!" Katara shouted. He gave his sister his best innocent expression, but she just glowered darkly at him. She then turned to Gong. "How many people are leaving?"

"A few hundred. The rest of the people don't want to fight, so there isn't much we can do about them. We're just taking the people in jeopardy out," Gong said. Aang returned from a different passage then he'd disappeared into, with a bucket brimming with wiggling pentapus. One of them was riding his arrow like a tiny hat.

"Got my first bucket!" he proclaimed proudly. He looked at Katara, who only had a few specimens. "Wow. I guess the pentapus just really like me."

Katara answered by throwing one at his face with a smirk. Sokka couldn't help but join her. This plan actually had a good chance of succeeding.

* * *

Mai munched on fire flakes as the morning went on. The moaning of the people below assaulted her sensibilities, but plagues had a tendency to do that. The people were shambling away. Good. Better away than toward. The people banged on the gongs, and hinged open the gates, letting the people spill out into the countryside. It was for the best; now they couldn't infect the soldiers and artisans who were coming in from the Fire Nation to start actual works.

"I knew I'd heard of Pentapox," Fu Yin said. "Look at those poor people. DRIVE THEM OUT OF THE CITY! But don't touch them!"

Mai grunted, and held her bowl to him. "Fire flake?"

"Mai, how can you think of food at a time like this?" Father asked.

"I was hungry," she said flatly. "Fine. I'll eat them myself."

The crowds milled out the gates, until the last stragglers were ushered through at the points of spears, and the gates were slammed closed. She shook her head and walked away. Pentapox wasn't a real disease. She moved back through the 'palace', a grey eyed shadow. Somewhere, she could here her mother scream. She picked up her pace a bit, and found Mother tearing apart the nursery.

"Where's Tahm-Tahm?" she shouted. "I don't understand it. He was right here."

"I knew Pentapox was fake," Mai said. She looked at her mother, in a tone usually used to describe a wobbly table, she said: "The resistance has probably kidnapped him, and used the Pentapox scare to get out of the gates."

Mother dissolved into tears. There was a sting of envy in Mai's heart. Mother had never once wept for her. Or laughed with her. Or told her she was good without being condescending. She turned and walked away. "The kitchen's also out of potatoes. They wanted you to know that."

"How can you think about food at a time like this?" Mother asked, weeping openly. Mai just walked away. As she saw it, nothing she did or said really mattered, so she had no real reason to care about anything. And if that made her a bad person, then, well, there wasn't much she could do about that. She moved out onto the ramparts, and was surprised by a familiar face coming around the corner. And without a palanquin, which was scandalous in its own way.

"Please," Mai said. "Tell me that you're here to kill me and take me away from this Hell?"

Azula smirked. Then, both let out a confidential laugh. Ty Lee, ever the enthusiastic little monkey, leapt past Azula and tackled Mai with a hug. "Oh, it's sooooo good to have all of us back together," she said. She then slinked... bent? Contorted away? Anyway, she bent in ways nature never intended a spine to bend, and walked away on her hands, grinning like a fool.

"You couldn't have picked a better time," Mai said. Her tone was flat as an undisturbed turtle-duck pond. "My brother got kidnapped a few minutes ago. Mother is beside herself."

"Well, I never did expect things to be boring around you," Azula said.

"You'd be surprised."

Azula's smirk returned. "I have a mission, and I need you both."

Mai gave a wan smile. "Count me in. Anything to get me away from this place."

Ty Lee flipped back onto her feet. "But what about your little brother?"

"You've heard about that, have you?" Father asked, coming upon them. His eyes widened when he saw Azula, and he bowed low. "I'm sorry, Crown Princess. I wasn't aware that you would be coming. I would have made preparations."

"Yes, you would have, and that would have defeated the purpose of my arrival," Azula said. Even Mai could tell she was quite annoyed.

"I apologize. You've come upon us at a difficult time. We've just suffered a plague, and my baby son has been kidnapped in the same day!"

"Pentapox isn't real, Dad," Mai said, emptily.

"Wait. But that... The resistance, those crafty bastards!" he said, getting to his feet.

Azula turned to Fu Yin. "Yes, I'm _so_ sorry that you lost your son, but letting hundreds of your citizens walk right out of the city in the middle of the day? That's just sloppy. My father put you in this post because he believed that you could adequately hold it. Instead, I come here and find that you're making an absolute farce of it. You should be ashamed that your tenure as governor was marred by such ineptitude."

Fu Yin glanced at Mai, then prostrated himself on the ground. "I am so sorry, Crown Princess."

"Don't be sorry," Azula said, her tone dangerous. "Be competent, or be exiled."

Mai shrugged. "I guess I should ask if you'd be willing to help get my brother back."

Azula looked at her, then smiled. It was a smile between old friends. "I guess no harm can come of a single day," She turned to Father. "Consider this the only favor the Fire Lord will ever do you again, governor. You will remain in your palace. I don't want your incompetence to doom the negotiations. And for the record, there is no more Omashu. It is being renamed in honor of my father, as New Ozai."

Father groveled. Mai walked with Azula. "So, what's your big mission, anyway?"

"I'm hunting my uncle and brother," Azula said. She smirked. "I figured you'd be up to the task in hunting down Zuko."

Mai turned away to conceal her blushing. Zuko had that effect on her. And now, she was going to see him again. Today wasn't turning out to be half bad. Besides the brother being kidnapped part, anyway.

* * *

Aang let the king's strange... thing... roll over onto its back. Flopsie was a creature which defied classification. Sokka sat up as he watched the dispirited Avatar. "We went everywhere. There's no sign of Bumi."

"I'm so sorry, Aang. I know how set you were on having Bumi as a teacher," Katara said.

"Um, Aang. We've got a problem," Sokka interrupted. Gong nodded.

"Yes, when we arrived, we did a head count."

"Oh, no, did we leave somebody behind?" Aang asked.

"Worse. We have somebody we didn't expect," Gong said. Sokka scootched aside, showing Aang what had appeared in camp. A toddler, dressed in extremely fine Fire Nation swaddlings. A toddler who appeared to be trying to eat Sokka's club.

Sokka snatched the club away from the infant. "No! Bad Fire Nation baby!" The toddler began to bawl, and Katara just shot Sokka a look. He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just don't break it," with the club back in his hands, the baby was content and burbling again.

"What are we going to do about this, Aang?" Katara asked. There was silence in the camp, as everybody pondered. Sokka looked to Gong.

"How much you wanna bet the answer falls out of the sky in the next minute?" Sokka wagered. As if heeding his words, a red feathered bird, the Fire Nation messenger hawk, descended to roost on the edge of the camp. Sokka turned back to Gong. "Can I call it, or can I call it?"

Aang took the message from the bird's back and scanned it briefly. "I don't believe it. This is from the governor of Omashu. He says that he's willing to trade the safe return of his son for King Bumi!"

Sokka extended his hand toward Gong. "You do realize I didn't take that wager?" Gong said.

"You just delight in taking the magic out of times like this, don't you?" Sokka countered.

"We've got to do it," Katara said. "We never intended to take his son, but at the very least, we can make it work to our advantage for once. Where do they want us to meet?"

"At the peak of the city," Aang said. "Next to the monument to Ozai."

* * *

In the woods, well away from any city wall, a small blind girl lay in the dirt, her eyes pointed directly at the sun. It didn't matter for her. It wasn't like she could see it. Her mind worked slowly as she tried to figure out how she was going to pull this off. Ordinarily, saps would be lining up around the bend trying to 'take advantage of the little blind girl'. But now, it was becoming increasingly obvious that people were beginning to catch wise.

Maybe she needed to change her image?

She knew somebody was sneaking up on her. Trying to, anyway. They could be as careful as they wanted, but as long as any part of them touched the earth, she knew exactly where they were. She got up, smacking some of the dust off of her rags, and spat onto the ground near her feet. She cracked her knuckles and stretched her shoulders; utterly pointless, but it made for a good scene. Then, she turned toward the sounds she heard.

"Alright, which ones are you?" she asked. There was a moment of silence. She could still hear the heart beating, though. And the heartrate went up a peg or so. "Come on, don't make me guess. You won't like what I do when I have to guess."

"Miss Beifong, your parents want you to come home," a voice in the blackness answered. It was a man, light of build. Probably not an earthbender. Come on, Mom and Dad, at least give me some respect, she thought.

"That'll be a dry day in Hell when that happens," she answered.

"So be it," the man said. There was a rattle of metal. Chains? They were going to manacle her? Oh, that was low. She could hear them whoosh toward her, so with a stomp of her bare feet, she brought up a wall of stone to block them. The hunter moved forward, swing his chains around. She couldn't track them through the air, and she really didn't want to be bound in metal, so she waited, measuring out his footsteps. And the instant one was about to hit the stone, she snapped her hands down, creating a deep hole where he tried to step, causing him to fall. A twist of her fingers, and he was encased around the chest in rock.

She walked up to him. "Next time my parents want to bring home their little runaway, tell them that they'll need more than just one scrub with a couple of chains to get me," She kicked a bit of dirt in his face, then walked off. He wasn't too tightly held. In a few hours, he'd work his way out. And he still had the chain if the pygmy panthers decided they wanted to eat him. She walked away, wondering who she was going to dupe into this. How she was going to get into that house. How she was going to get away after she robbed them blind, pun absolutely intended.

* * *

Ty Lee smiled as Bumi was lowered toward the ground. He seemed like such a lively old fellow. She waved at him, and he winked back at her. Mai rolled her eyes. "_You're just encouraging the crazy old lemur_," Mai said.

"_What? He seems nice. Like my grandfather._"

"_He's nobody's grandfather,_" Mai said. Ty Lee frowned.

"_Why not?_"

"_Some people said he had a taste for 'less productive' loves. Others that he was a monk in some celibate order,_" Mai shrugged. "_I just think he was too weird to breed._"

"_Enough babbling!_" Azula said. At the far end of the structure, three figures climbed up to their level. One of them was holding a baby. Ty Lee smiled.

"Hi, everybody!" the old king said as he was lowered to the floor. He was encased in what looked like an iron sarcophagus, only his face exposed. Mai stepped to the forefront.

"Do you have my brother?" she shouted in Tianxia. The kidnappers drew closer.

"Yes!" came the answer. She recognized that voice. Ty Lee squinted, and was shocked to see two siblings in blue Tribesman clothes, and a young, orange robed monk.

"Oh, my gods!" she said. "Aang, what are you doing here?"

There was a moment of confusion, and the two other girls turned to her.

"_Do you recognize this insect?_" Azula asked.

"Ty Lee?" Sokka's voice came across the divide. "What are you doing here. And what are you wearing?"

"_Is this the time for reunions?_" Mai asked. She turned to the three friends Ty Lee made on Kyoshi. Friends? Why would her friends kidnap a baby? A scowl grew on Ty Lee's features. "Release my brother unharmed, and you will have your king," she said.

"Mai, a thought," Azula said, this time in Tianxia. She wanted the others to hear. Mai turned to Azula.

"Yes, Princess Azula?"

"We're trading a toddler, who is the son of an obscure Fire Nation governor, for a powerful East Continent king. Does that seem like a fair trade to you?" Azula asked. Ty Lee gaped.

"But that's her brother."

"No, she's right," Mai said. She turned to the kidnappers. Ty Lee's friends, once. "The Deal's off."

"_Oh, this isn't going to be good,_" Ty Lee said.

"_And why not?_" Azula asked. Above, the winch began to run, dragging Bumi back into the sky.

"See you all later!" Bumi shouted, excitedly.

"_She's a waterbender, and a pretty good one. He's a good fighter, and the monk, well, he's the Avatar,_" Ty Lee said. Azula's eyes widened just a fraction. The Avatar looked as Bumi was winched upward, and he shouted the king's name. Azula reacted fastest, leaping forward and hurling a gout of brilliant blue flame at him, but he just leapt above it onto the rigging in a single bound. The towel fell off of his head, revealing the unique, Air Nomad arrows. He opened his staff into a glider, and began to soar upward.

"So he is the Avatar," Azula smirked. "This is my lucky day."

Ty Lee was already moving, though. She flipped under the surface and began to bound along the rigging below, waiting until she heard the footfalls above her. She thrust her fist upward, breaking the board and tossing Sokka onto his ground. She spun topside and began to run toward him. At least he had the decency to land on his back and protect the baby.

"_Why did you do it?_" she shouted. "_How could you kidnap a baby?_"

"_I didn't mean to!_" he answered, in her own language. She stopped for a moment, and felt something wrap around her ankle. With a jerk, she was pulled backward, sliding along the wood. Katara, the mean girl who always made a point to ignore her. She turned and ran at her, but she flicked the water again, sending Ty Lee tumbling over the side of the platform. She managed to hold onto the edge, but she was far from the fight. Not far enough.

The waterbender was giving Mai a hard time. All of the projectiles Mai threw were deflected, blocked, or otherwise negated by water or ice. Katara even managed to bind Mai in ice, locking her down completely. But Katara was distracted. Ty Lee ran along the floor with speed only Mai could better, and slid past Katara slamming her stiffened fingers into the pressure points that controlled waterbending. The ice turned to basic water, and Mai shrugged some of the wet off of her.

"I trusted you," Ty Lee said. Katara tried to lift the water again, but she might as well have been trying to earthbend. Mai took a step forward, and pulled out a heavy knife.

"How are you going to fight without your bending?" Mai asked coldly. Ty Lee heard the cutting in the air, though, and ducked. Sokka's boomerang slashed through the air where Ty Lee's head had been, and smacked the knife out of Mai's grasp.

"I seem to manage just fine," Sokka said. Appa landed hard on the scaffold, making it tip and splinter. He leapt off, as Katara, probably half numb, tried to get onto Appa's back.

"I can't believe you'd do that to Mai!" Ty Lee said, punching and kicking at Sokka. But he dodged and weaved around her every blow, buying time for Katara to escape.

"We didn't kidnap the baby!" Sokka said, shifting just enough to have what should have been a debilitating strike miss completely. "He wandered out during the plague!"

"You're lying!"

"Why would I lie during a fist fight?" Sokka said, a goofy grin appearing on his face for an instant, before she managed to sweep his leg. Much to her surprise, though, as he went down, he grabbed her ankle and pulled it out from under her. They landed side by side. She looked over, a bit stunned, then tried to punch his arm numb. He rolled out of the way, as a number of arrows landed where his neck would have been. He scampered to his feet, giving Ty Lee one, last, sad look. "I promise you, we're not the bad guys here," he said. Then he turned, and with a sprinting start, leapt off the side of the monument. Ty Lee got to her feet with a hop and ran over. She watched as brother and sister and kidnapped baby all fled on the back of Appa, across the city of New Ozai.

"Well, that's annoying," Mai said hollowly.

"What?"

"I'm never going to find that knife," she said.

* * *

"Aang! You have to listen to me!" Bumi shouted as Aang tried to snap the chain. Air obviously wasn't going to work, and water would take to long. He focused, and fired a blast of fire at it. It singed the chain, but nothing more. He needed something stronger. Oh, if only he knew how to earthbend already.

"Just a minute, Bumi," Aang said. He tried water again. Katara had done impressive things with water before. He just needed to put some more effort into it.

"No, you have to pay attention, Aang. This is extremely important!" Bumi shouted. Aang heard an explosion behind him, and that black haired firebender came rocketing into the sky, She blasted a huge wave of blue fire at Aang. He dived down one side, and it ripped through the chain, leaving it red hot. Aang smiled, and when he popped back up, he smacked the chain with a powerful air blade, and the entire thing gave out. The coffin fell, but just before it hit the transit system, Aang cushioned it with a ball of air. It began to slide down the channels toward the base of the city, throwing sparks all the while.

"Just like old times, 'eh Bumi?" Aang asked. Bumi gave a look of alarm, and Aang ducked just in time to dodge a blue blast of fire which would have singed his hair, if he'd had any. That girl just wouldn't give up. Taking a page from Aang and Bumi's book, she was using one of the transit carts to sled down after them.

"Who are you?" Aang shouted at the girl. She smirked, and responded by hurling a blade of fire at him. He answered by cutting it in half with his own, red fire. It didn't work as well as he'd have liked; The heat of the fire still singed his hand. She had a powerful advantage in firebending. That was clear. Without any source of water, it would have to be fire against air. Luckily, Aang knew just about everything there was to know about air.

She hurled fire, and he snuffed it as it came. It was harder than anything he'd done before. Even Zuko wasn't this good. Whoever this girl was, she was in a league of her own. As the coffin approached another overpass, Aang turned and cut the narrow spot of stone with a blade of air, sending it crashing toward her. Hopefully, it wouldn't hurt her too badly. When they cleared the dust, the sled seemed empty. "See. I told you everything was going to be oka–"

The girl popped back up and fired a column of flame at Aang, which he had to dodge by completely leaving the track. The coffin flew through the air briefly, before slamming through a lower track, and sledding away on one lower still. Aang sighed a breath of relief. "I think we lost her, Bumi."

"Aang look out!" Bumi shouted. Aang turned just in time to get kicked in the chest. She'd jumped onto the back end of the coffin. She stared at him for a moment, measuring. Her eyes were like molten gold. Her eyes were like Zuko's.

"Hello, Avatar," she said, her voice sultry and low. She surged forward, a blast of fire curling from her fists and feet. Aang dodged. He moved with her, flowing around her every attack, keeping to her back. She spun and moved, but he managed to stay away from her. She kept attacking until they'd traded places, he at the foot of the coffin and her at the head. Then, her eyes shifted downward for an instant, and the smirk reappeared. "Say goodbye to your king."

As she cocked her fist back to slam a blast of fire into Bumi's unprotected face, Aang tried to do something, anything to stop her. Bumi gave a hard grimace, the muscles in his neck contracting. Then, a part of the track rose up, smashing into the firebender's back. Aang dodged flat, his head almost grinding against the rushing stone. She flew over him, landing on the channel. She stared at him, hate in those golden eyes, as he sledded away.

"You can still earthbend?" Aang asked. Bumi nodded happily. The coffin screamed down the track, along a few intersections and switch ways, before it came to the base, near the walls. Bumi earthbent a platform for his coffin to rest on, and Aang stood, looking up at him. "Why didn't you do that months ago?"

"Because it wasn't the right time," Bumi said, his eyes sparkling. Each was a different shade of green, and many took it to be a sign of his madness. Aang knew that Bumi had been born like that. "What do you know about the jin, Aang?"

Aang rolled his eyes, holding up two fingers "Everybody knows about that. There are two jins. Positive jin when you're attacking and negative jin when you're defending."

"And neutral jin, when you do nothing!" Bumi exclaimed. Aang looked at his hand, and added a third finger. Behind them, Aang could hear Appa landing, and Momo flew over and landed on top of the coffin.

"There are three jins?" Aang asked, confused.

"Actually, there are more like forty seven, but for now, let's just concentrate on the third," Bumi said, his thin voice full of mirth.

"What does this jin do?" Aang asked.

"Nothing!" Bumi laughed. "But there is power in doing nothing. Sometimes, if you defend, you expend energy and lose. If you attack, you leave yourself open, and you lose. In instances like that, you need to wait and listen. An opportunity can sometimes only be reached if you are willing to do nothing until it does. I know you want me to be your earthbending teacher, Aang, but I cannot leave Omashu. Or is it New Ozai, now?"

"Bumi..."

"You need to find a teacher who waits and listens. Someone who has mastered the art of neutral jin." Momo chattered away from where he was sitting near Bumi's head. "Much the same way that Momo has mastered a few jins in his time!"

Aang pondered a moment. "I had a vision in a swamp, of a little girl with strange eyes."

"Aang, you are the avatar. Your life transcends lifetimes. Just look at you and me! I'm a hundred and fourteen years old, while you're still a child! Maybe you were seeing somebody you lost in another lifetime, somebody you know in your heart you need now."

"Aang, we've got to go. Is Bumi coming?" Katara asked, rubbing her arms as though she were having trouble feeling them. Aang turned to her.

"No. I don't think he is."

"Don't worry, Aang. Everything will work out in the end. I trust that you and Momo will find a perfect solution to your problems," Bumi said. Then, with a heave of his old, weathered face, he tipped off of his platform and began to be pushed, laughing insanely, back up the delivery system. With a last look of regret, Aang hopped onto Appa, and they flew away. Not far, though. They had one last thing to do in Omashu.

* * *

"We are leaving," Azula said. Ty Lee looked behind her, standing on her hands as she was, so that they couldn't see her expression. She didn't like this one bit. Not the bad guys? But they'd taken Tahm-Tahm. But he seemed so honest. She couldn't figure out what was going on.

Mai's father was beside himself. "But what about my son? You said you'd get him back."

"I said I'd give you a day. The day is over, and your son is gone. If you want him back, get him yourself. But if I find you paid too dear a price for him, I will not just return with harsh words, I will return to empty your throne," Azula warned. She turned to Mai and Ty Lee.

"So, where is our little quest to find your brother going to take us now?" Mai asked.

"Not just my brother," Azula corrected. "Now, we're hunting the Avatar as well. He is the only threat to Father's rule, and he must be eliminated."

"Whatever."

"We are going north," Azula said. "There's somebody I know of who could be very useful to us in hunting down the Avatar. I just need to find her."

Ty Lee looked back as they walked away, at the grieving parents. Nobody should have to lose their child. As she did, though, she caught a glimpse of something. Up above them, there was a flash of orange and yellow. She stopped, flipping onto her feet. She watched as the Avatar silently dropped into the nursery through a window. Aang glanced around, and set down a basket. Ty Lee could see Tahm-Tahm sleeping gently inside. She pressed her hands to the panes of glass, not knowing if she should alert Azula. Aang stood up, and looked at her. There was a moment of pristine silence, then he snapped open his glider, jumped through the window, and soared away. Not the bad guys.

Ty Lee was confused.


	4. Lives Never Lived

**All of that pre-introduction comes to a head. Like Aang, Toph is 14, now, and she got fed up with her parents a long time ago, which means she couldn't possibly meet him under the same circumstances. Inventing circumstances that she could, well, that was part of the challenge in making an AU, now isn't it?**

* * *

In the darkness, a shadow moved.

The days were hot, and the nights, stifling. It felt good. Familiar. The shadow flit through the trees along the road, waiting, watching. The night was his time. It was almost like having another identity. One rose with the sun, the other lived in the shadows. Always in tension with each other. But then again, his life had always been one of tension. The quiet creaking of a well greased axle caught the shadow's attention, and there was stillness in the forest.

Four. Four caravan guards rode on ostrich horses, spaced around the carriage. They were far apart. The ones at the front couldn't see the ones at the back. The shadow waited. He was close. He was close enough that he could have reached out and touched the side of the wagon. But that would have been foolish. So the shadow waited. One guard moved a bit faster, strutting past the shadow. He didn't even glance to where the threat lay. The other was farther away, but further behind. The shadow knew its prey.

A flicker in the darkness, and the shadow was moving across the expanse. Their eyes were accustomed to spotting dangers in the daylight. The shadow's could see everything else. They had been trained in fire and in ice, light and dark. He vaulted up, his blows terribly precise. A strike to the side of the head, and the man was tipped out of the saddle. The shadow grabbed the conical hat and slid it over his face.

"Jubei?" the nearest guard asked. The shadow gave a nod, but kept his head down. "Did you hear something?"

The shadow shrugged. The guard, mollified, fell back a bit. He took up a position near the shadow. He turned. "I can't believe he's got us working this late. It's not safe to go out at night."

The shadow shrugged. The guard turned to him. "What? Nothing to say? Usually you..." he paused, leaning close. "Wait, you're not..."

The shadow struck, a swift jab with exceptional power, throwing the other guard out of his saddle, vanishing into the woods off the path. Idly, the shadow moved closer to the carriage. Something caught its eye. It reached out and plucked a mask which hung amongst curios and oddities. It was an oni mask, painted in bright green and red lacquers. It suited perfectly. The spirit, now, moved even closer, pulling himself atop the trader's wagon. A flicker of movement, and he was inside. A whisper of blades. The trader was asleep. The driver was oblivious. The spirit could have just killed them all. But something stopped it. That wasn't why it was here. It rifled through the miscellany and found a locked box, quite light. It was the spirit's target. A flicker of shadow, and the spirit was back outside. Ostrich horses wandered away, warking amongst themselves. A flicker of shadow, and the spirit was gone.

* * *

Aang lay awake, staring at the waning moon. Bumi's loss was painful. He believed so strongly that his old friend was going to be the one who taught him how to earthbend. Now, he was lost in the Earth Kingdoms once again, trying to find somebody who had that mastery, that skill. Bumi had said, it would be somebody who waits and listens, but who else could do that as well as Bumi? He rolled over, his thoughts distracting him.

He sat up, staring at the sky. The morning would come soon, but there was no rest for him. He'd have to make it up on the flight. He considered a dozen different places he could go to find an earthbending master. Chin was close, but he didn't have any good memories of that place. Gaoling was big, and would probably have somebody like that, but it just seemed so... mundane. Everything that had happened to him so far seemed part of some grand tapestry. Just 'recruiting' a master would have stood out like an undyed thread in a masterpiece.

"You awake too?" Sokka asked. Aang's eyes widened.

"Yeah," he said.

"Something bothering you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Just feel like saying 'yeah' all night?"

"Yeah."

"Then I guess I'll talk to you in the morning when you run out of them," he said, turning over. He didn't start to snore, though. He wasn't asleep. Aang got up, starting to walk around the camp. Eventually, he settled next to the stump where Momo was gnawing on a big beetle he'd managed to catch.

"I see you've got yourself breakfast?" Aang said. Momo turned to him and stared with those really big eyes and chattered briefly before resuming his meal. "I know, you can't really talk, but it's relaxing to pretend that I have somebody to talk with.

Momo chattered briefly. Aang scowled. "I'm going to pretend I didn't pretend to hear you say that," Aang muttered. "What am I going to do? I have to find an earthbending teacher, and it's got to be a special one," he paused. His mind went back to the swamp, and the things he saw. "And what about that vision I saw? That little girl in the white dress. The flying boar. What did that mean? And 'friendships that transcend lifetimes'?"

Aang shook his head. "Maybe I'm just overthinking this. Maybe I just need to do the sensible thing and learn from the first earthbending teacher I find."

Momo chattered at Aang. He turned to the lemur. "You know, if you're going to be like that, I'm just going to leave."

Momo finished the beetle and flew away. Alone in the dark. Yes, his friends were right over there, curled up in their sleeping bags, but some nights, he felt particularly alone. Some nights, he felt old. It had been a long time since he wept for Gyatso, for his mother whom he barely knew. For his father he never did. Those tears had gone dry. But every time he sat, alone, and quiet in his thoughts, they seemed to bubble back to the surface. Who would he have been if he wasn't the Avatar?

Aang imagined a hundred lives. The carefree airbender, happy and free, playing with friends. The charming rogue, who when given his people's choice of walking the Earth, chose never to come back. The sailor. The tinker. The chef. The priest. He thought of all those Aangs who could have been, but something always rose up, a single event which cut him off from that voyage of the hypothetical. Sozin's Comet, and the annihilation of the Air Nomads. There was hate in his heart. He could feel it. Every time he heard that name, it caused his blood to boil. He hated, and he hated that he hated. It wasn't right. It wasn't proper. It was against everything the monks had ever taught him about being an Air Nomad, about being a good person. But still he hated. And it felt good. It _felt_ right.

He turned his thoughts away. Thinking about Sozin just made him upset, the same way that thinking about Ozai did. The same way thinking about Zuko did. But that was a different thing. With Sozin, with Ozai, it was the sickeningly sweet burn of knowing the face of evil, of wanting the world clear of it. With Zuko... it was more like regret. Regret that a hypothetical Aang couldn't meet a hypothetical Zuko, and make a hypothetical friend. It didn't matter. Aang was the Avatar. The last airbender ever to walk this Earth. But he would walk it his way.

The sun would rise soon. He wasn't getting any more sleep today. He ran a hand over his head. He definitely needed to shave, but he didn't doubt Katara would take care of that. She always did seem to enjoy taking care of him. There were probably reasons there that Aang didn't explore, but he figured if she wanted to talk about them, she would. Instead, he leaned down, and set a tiny fire in his hand, laying it onto the ground and building a pit around it. The least he could do for these friends, these loyal companions, was to give them some breakfast. Jook was always better warm. He smiled at them. Even when he was alone, they were always with him. Maybe, just maybe, he could really pull this off.

* * *

"Did you see that?" Aang asked from the head, suddenly. Katara looked away from mending Sokka's pants. He seemed to rip them every time he turned around, nowadays. Maybe he just needed to get new pants. She stopped her humming and leaned forward.

"No, what is it?" she asked. Aang pulled Appa around into a downward spiral.

"I saw somebody down there on the road," Aang said. As they spun down, Katara began to see it, too. He really did have incredibly good eyes. Appa landed, and Katara hopped off, looking at the girl in the road.

She was small, her black hair long and matted, and covered in filth. The rags she wore for clothing were also caked in debris and effluvia that she would rather not have thought about. And she was weeping quietly, almost like she couldn't stop. Katara moved toward her, and the little girl scooted away with a clipped yell. "Don't come any closer!" she shouted, her voice high. How old would she be? Aang's age, maybe?

"I'm not here to hurt you," Katara said, "I just want to help you."

The girl leaned forward and hugged her knees. Her hair covered her entire body, like another layer of clothing. How long had she gone without a haircut? How long had she lived without a roof? An instant of heat rose through her as she thought of who would put this poor girl through that sort of deprivation ran through Katara, but she had other impulses. She took another step toward her.

"What's your name?" Katara asked. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know," the girl said. "I don't know where I am or how I got here."

"You can't remember how you got here?" Sokka asked.

"Do you think you could show us where you live? We could bring you back," Katara said.

"Right. _Showing_ you would do me a world of good," the girl said, sarcasm entering her voice.

"Please, I don't want to leave you here. There are so many things that can hurt a girl in the woods. I just want to help you," she said. And she meant it. More than any other thing, Katara hated seeing children lose their parents. The girl stood, her eyes downcast, and walked toward Katara. Katara took her hand. "Good. Now let's get you onto Appa."

"What is that thing, anyway?" the girl asked.

"It's my flying bison," Aang proclaimed loudly.

The girl paused. "Flying bison? Give me a break. Those things have been extinct for a century," her voice didn't have any of the weeping in it anymore. The change was odd.

"It's right in front of you," Sokka said. "What does it look like?"

"I wouldn't know," the girl said, thumbing her locks out of her face. Her eyes, which would have been bright green, were covered over in a milky glaze. "I can't see."

Katara's heart ached for the poor girl. "I'm sorry. When did this happen?"

"Flying bison? Do we have to fly?" the girl sounded nervous. "I don't like that idea very much."

"Well, we can walk, if we need to," Aang said. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Appa bellowed a bit, and Sokka rolled his eyes. "Great. Just when I think I get a break from walking all over the place, we've got to hold hands with the little blind girl. She wouldn't even notice if we flew her..."

"No. If she wants to walk, then we walk," Aang jumped off of Appa and walked up to the girl. "It'd be my honor to see you home. Where is your home, little girl."

"My name is Toph, and don't you forget it," she said, sounding a little annoyed. Tui La, this girl just switched gears like a lunatic. When she spoke again, her tone was softer. "And my home is in Shr-Wa. My parents will be glad that you brought me back."

"We're just happy helping somebody get home," Aang said. "I'm Aang. I'm the Avatar."

Toph just stared to the side for a moment. "Wow, you really believe that, don't you?"

"Kinda hard not to," Sokka said, messing around with his precious maps. Katara didn't see why he devoted so much time to them. "Shr-Wa isn't that far away. It'll take a couple of days, but since we don't have a set destination anyway, it's not like we're losing time."

Toph smiled then, but it wasn't the smile Katara expected. This wasn't the exuberant smile of a child to be reunited with her absent parents, full of joy and glee. This was closer to that smirk she saw on that firebender. Something was running through the girl's head, and Katara didn't know what. And it probably wasn't her place to find out. People kept secrets because they had reasons to. If the girl wanted to talk about it, then she would talk about it. It was obvious that she was doing poorly on her own, so Katara's instincts just kept prodding her. Do the right thing. Help the girl. And she would. Because that was what Katara was.

* * *

Toph couldn't believe her blind stinkin' luck, pun absolutely intended. All that she had to do was lie down and pretend to cry for a couple of hours and a bunch of witless saps just drops out of the damned sky to 'help' her. Of course, they were deluded and poor as the dirt behind her ears, but that just meant they would be perfect patsies.

"When was the last time you washed your hair?" the sugarqueen asked. Her name was Katara, but she was just so saccharine that it made Toph feel like she was chewing sugar beets by talking to her. Toph shrugged.

"Probably around the same time I washed my clothes," she said, kicking the pile of rags nearby. She had to admit, they were beginning to get bothersome, but they'd served their purpose. They made blind little Toph Beifong look nice and pathetic. And it meant that she could get somebody else to do her hair, which was always a plus.

"How long have you been out here, then?" Katara asked.

"A while," Toph answered. "Since the Fire Nation siege." It was a lie, of course. Nobody in their right mind would siege Shr-Wa; there was no point. No walls, no defenses, nothing worth invading. Well, except for her house, but that was a special case. Even though most of her body was submerged, she could still hear, if not feel, the goof wandering around, his belly grumbling. She could hear twinkletoes moving around the campsite like he wasn't completely tethered to the ground. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own two feet. An Air Nomad. Weird days. Weird days...

"Oh, you poor thing," Katara said, working a particularly stubborn snarl out of Toph's hair. She never felt like taking care of it herself, because it was too much effort for not enough payoff. She didn't care what she looked like. Not really any incentive to. And even though it grated on her to have sugarqueen fussing over her like a surrogate mother, it was nice to be pampered a bit. The brushing continued. If she had her way, she would have kept at least some of the dirt on her; when she was clean, she felt a bit naked.

"Oh, it's not all bad. People are always willing to spare a coin for the little blind girl," Toph said. Also a lie. They didn't offer the money, but that didn't stop Toph from taking it. She had two nicknames, depending on whom one asked. To her parents, and the people they hired, she was The Runaway. Cute. To some other people, though, and she much preferred this one; she was the Blind Bandit. Finally, the sugarqueen finished and left Toph alone to dry.

"We'll be right over here if you need us, alright?"

"I can hear you, I can hear you," she said, pulling herself out of the pond and pulling the clothes Katara had set aside for her over herself. They were clean, which was disappointing, but at least they smelled a little funky. It must have been next to goof's socks or something. She silently wandered away from the camp, where Katara began to talk with her brother and... 'friend'... about what to do with Toph. It made Toph smirk.

Perfect lackies. They'd take her to her parents like a bunch of obedient little mummers, and they'd collect the substantial reward. Her parents, so _relieved_ that their helpless little daughter was returned to them, would throw them a party. Toph would rob her parents blind (pun absolutly intended), steal anything worth taking, probably pause just long enough to nick the reward for bringing her safely back home from twinkletoes, then split before anybody knew what happened. It was the perfect heist. She bent a seat up to her, and leaned back, recumbent. How lovely it was when a plan just sorta came together.

She frowned. Somebody was approaching. From below? No way. She hopped to her feet, sounding back. The camp was far enough away that they wouldn't be able to hear much, but she didn't stake her reputation on that fact. Tunneling up out of the ground was an earthbender. Gahj Muul, a bounty hunter from Si Wong. She smiled at him.

"Oh, back for a rematch, are you?" she asked.

"Give it up, Bandit," Muul said. "I've got you surrounded."

"Oh, those scrubs?" she said. She flicked her hands forward, and the idiots who thought they were hiding behind the rocks found themselves being catapulted onto the dirt near Muul. Muul looked at her.

"Don't think you can escape justice, Bandit," Muul said, taking a horse stance. "I've tracked you for months, and I won't stop until you're in metal chains."

The others also righted themselves, taking up their low stances, preparing to earthbend. As if having a three on one advantage would have mattered. She smirked, then let out a light laugh. "Oh, you just don't seem to get it, do you, Muul? It doesn't matter how many you send after me."

Toph twisted her foot, sending out her earthbending to break one's stance, before flicking her wrist and launching one of the subcontractors away. She twisted more, bending a sledge-hammer of stone to bash the other one up and into the trees. He'd be feeling that one in the morning. Muul tried sending a wave of earth at Toph. She waited until just the right moment, then stomped forward and smashed the wave harmlessly into the ground. She took a demure pose. "You keep forgetting one important thing, Muul," she said sweetly. "I'm the greatest earthbender in the world. And you? You're just an afterthought."

She thrust her hands out once, then again with a flare. The stone erupted, catapulting Muul over into the trees. She could still feel him breathe, his heart beat, but it was the steady beat of somebody unconscious. Then, she felt somebody behind her. She spun around, her hands in the mantis form, but realized that it was sugarqueen and twinkletoes. She dropped her hands and stared off in a random direction.

"What happened down here? Toph, are you okay?" sugarqueen asked. Too easy.

"Did something happen? I was just drying off and I think I got lost," she said, innocent as can be. She felt Katara move forward and gently guide Toph back to camp. She really didn't need the help.

"Come on. Let's get back. Sokka's cooking dinner, and nobody wants that," she said.

"Yeah, I guess not. Come on, Twinkletoes, don't fall behind on us," Toph said. Aang became stock still, and she could feel his heartrate soar. Even blind, she could tell he was staring at her. Oh, crap. Had she just done something to give herself away? She couldn't look back. She had to keep walking. After a moment, Aang followed. She was going to have to be more careful around him. If he was, as he believed, really the Avatar, she didn't know what he was capable of. She just hoped he was capable of pulling off one big scam.

* * *

Zuko looked around the cave that they'd taken shelter in. The storm raged outside, relentless. He'd fallen so far. He was once a prince, and now he was skulking in caves. Shameful. Iroh hummed a tune to himself as he tended the fire.

"You could just firebend the pot," Zuko said. "It'd be easier than trying to find dry twigs in this weather."

"Perhaps, but we are fugitives, in a land not our own. Firebenders are the enemy here. If we firebend, we would be as much as claiming that we are spies. And the punishment for spying is fairly steep, I think you'll find."

"Nobody's here to see us? What could it possibly hurt?" Zuko shouted. Iroh just gave him a glance.

"Nobody is here now. What about later? Get into the habit now, so you don't slip up later. You need to seem like everything you do is normal, so nobody will be suspicious. In time, it will _become_ normal," he put another little stick into the fire. It smoked and popped before starting to burn properly. Zuko shook his head. It was strange not to feel the tail moving as his head did. A lot of things felt strange.

"I don't want anything about this to be normal!" Zuko shouted. "This isn't my life! I didn't ask for it, I don't want it, and I don't want to live in this land of savages and idiots. I want to go home. I want my honor back."

"You need to learn patience, my nephew," Iroh said. "It is a virtue which many of our ancestors and mine held dear. One which has served our family well. Come, sit. We will have tea."

"No!" Zuko shouted. "I should be training. I should be preparing for the next time I fight the Avatar. I need to capture him, to bring him to my father..."

"How?" Iroh asked. Zuko sputtered to a stop. "And when you capture him, how will you bring him home? You have no ship, no crew. No way to cross the oceans. How will you bring him to my brother?"

"I... I don't know," Zuko said, sliding his back down along the wall. Uncle was right. He didn't have a plan. But that didn't mean he couldn't try. That was all he had left. Iroh smiled, smelling the steam rising out of the kettle. Zuko felt a smile come to his own face. How had Iroh fallen, just as far as he had, and remained so... pleased? Zuko shook his head. He reached into an inside pocket, and pulled out an envelope.

"What is that?" Iroh asked.

"I got this for you, Uncle," Zuko said, handing over the envelope. Iroh opened it, looked inside, and a beaming smile came to his face. He leaned down and breathed deeply of it. "Do you like it?"

"Jasmine tea!" he said with a laugh. "It's my favorite!"

"I know, Uncle," Zuko said. Of course, Iroh would never stop talking about tea, so something had to stick eventually.

Iroh smiled at the leaves for a long moment, but the mirth drained from his face. "Where did you get this?"

Zuko's face dropped a bit. "I found it," he said.

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "One does not 'find' jasmine tea," he said, disapproval heavy in his voice. "Where did you get it?"

"From a trader," Zuko said. Iroh stared at him, golden eyes meeting golden eyes.

"You stole it, didn't you?" Iroh asked. He set the envelope aside.

"So what if I did?" Zuko asked. "It's your favorite, isn't it?"

"I cannot accept what wasn't yours to give," Iroh said. "While I may savor the flavor of a delicious jasmine tea now, it would be stained by the disappointment I feel in my soul. There are other ways to make a living in this world, Zuko."

"I just wanted to do something nice, and you throw it in my face? Well, you can just..." Zuko stammered, then he punched a bolt of fire at the envelope, burning the leaves. He turned and left, sitting in the rain, facing the grey murk. Why was it always like this? No matter what he tried to do, it always failed, often spectacularly. He couldn't help the people he cared about. He couldn't get his father to love him. He could barely even remember Mother's voice. Everybody was right about him. He was a Dark Prince. Everything about his life was cursed. After a few minutes, Zuko noticed Iroh coming out and sitting beside him, in the rain.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said. "I just thought you'd like it."

"But you went about it the wrong way," Iroh said, staring into the murk. "Even the finest of gifts can be corrupted if they carry the wrong sort of price. You have to learn that you can always get what you want from life. The question is, are you willing to pay the price attached to it?"

"I don't know. I wish you'd just stop spouting all these riddles at me and give me some advice, or tell me what I did wrong, or something," Zuko said.

"You stole. And you lied to me," Iroh said. "But your heart was in the right place. That's more important that you would easily believe. Come, nephew. The fire is warm and the weather is miserable. Don't make me have tea alone."

Zuko stared into the rain, wallowing in his own misery, as Iroh went back into the cave. Part of Zuko wanted to stay out here. To feel that chill cut all the way through him, to grind against his very bones. But he watched as his uncle sat in front of that fire, humming a song that he no longer had the instruments to play. Zuko wanted his honor back. He wanted his throne. But somewhere, deep down inside, he just wanted to be home.

* * *

Shr-Wa was a mining town, and looked every inch of it. It was dug into the side of a mountain, cut from the very granite which was extracted and sold to areas where it could be of better use. Most of it was owned by the Beifong family, Aang had learned; amongst other things, their export of stone meant that mining the metals was childsplay. They were considered some of the richest people in the East Continent, if not the world. He landed Appa in their luxurious gardens, a fair distance away from the house which dominated the city. It would have been a palace, if it weren't constructed of the same stuff everything else was.

"This is your house?" Sokka asked. "It's enormous! You weren't kidding when you said they were rich."

"Yeah, I know," Toph said. "They like to show it off, too. Come on, I think I know my way from here."

Aang hopped down, watching as the girl walked along the path. There was something downright odd about her. It wasn't just that she wandered calmly as a cow pig in a poke, despite her blindness. It wasn't that she moved between expressed emotions faster than Katara on a bad day. No, it was the words she used, and the things she said. The instant she said that word, it sent that vision surging through his mind. The girl from the swamp. But he couldn't be sure. His vision was far away, unclear.

Ordinarily, he was a fairly good judge of people lying to him. But with her, he couldn't; he usually judged by looking into their eyes. Kind of a problem in Toph's case. She looked better now, though. Her hair, once dull and filthy, now ran black and shiny down almost to her knees. Aang watched where she walked. She must be following the path, he thought, but she defied that assumption by wandering onto the soil, moving around plants. Memory, perhaps?

She kept walking, and a stepped around a cat sleeping on the path. That didn't seem possible. If she was blind, how did she know it was there? Aang wondered, but didn't have to wonder long. Ahead, people in brown and yellow livery came running into the courtyard. They took up low stances. "Intruders in the Gardens! Inform the masters!"

"Wait! We're not intruders!" Aang said, waving his arms. "We're bringing back..."

"Mistress Toph?" one of the guards asked. He ran forward, and knelt in front of her. "Are you alright? Did these people harm you?"

"They brought me back," she said. No joy, nothing like that. Just a simple statement of fact. The guard turned to Aang and bent low.

"Thank you, young sir. Please wait here a moment while Ren Wei alerts the masters," the guard said, picking Toph up and carrying her to the entrance of the house. She had a sour look on her face. Aang couldn't understand it. Katara also looked suspicious, as did Sokka, but Sokka was always suspicious. No big change. After a few minutes, the house came alive, as a man in brown and gold clothing came rushing out of the building, scooping up Toph's small form and spinning her around.

"Toph! Spirits and gods, I thought we'd lost you!" he said.

"Oh, where is my little girl?" Toph's mother asked, leaning down to her level. "Are you alright? Did anybody hurt you? Oh, it's been so long..."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Toph said. Annoyed. Why annoyed? Aang moved closer. She pointed directly at him. But how? "These people found me out in the country and offered to bring me home."

"You rescued my little girl?" Master Beifong asked. Aang nodded and was about to speak, but the man cut him off. "Then you deserve some sort of compensation. Oh, we were so worried about her. She's blind, and tiny and weak and helpless. We were so afraid that something had done something to her. She's defenseless."

"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Aang began but he was already moving back into the house.

"What is your name, young man?" Mistress Beifong asked. Aang bowed to her.

"My name is Aang, and I'm the Avatar. This is Katara and Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe."

"The Avatar? Oh, my. We never thought..." she turned to her guards. "Ready the rooms," back to Aang. "Please, come in, come in. If I had known you would be coming to our little city, I would have prepared more properly. I don't think we've ever played host to the Avatar before."

"I'd have doubted if you did. I've been... away for a while," Aang said. He turned and shrugged to his companions. They shrugged back. Aang moved into the house, all of grandiose splendor on the inside, but his thoughts turned back to Toph. She moved around as though she could see, but everybody thought her blind. She always knew where everybody was, even if they were standing out of eyeshot. Was she really blind? And why did her calling him Twinkletoes bother him so much?

Time passed, in relative opulence, until dinner was chimed and the group was invited to dine with the masters. The dining room was every bit as ornate as the rest of the house, but it felt a bit too wide, too spacious. It felt a bit empty. Aang sat next to the head of the table, next to the master.

"I'm so pleased to have you here, young Avatar," he said. "And so relieved that you brought my daughter back to me. She vanished almost a year ago, and nobody I sent to locate her was ever heard from again. It was like the Earth just swallowed them all up."

Aang glanced around. She still wasn't here. "Tell me about her," Aang said. Something about this girl had his interest piqued.

"Well... um... there isn't much to tell," Master Beifong said. "She was born blind, and so small and frail. We had a lot of scares over the years. She never seemed to grow as fast as she should have, to be as tough as she should have. She always was our little lily, but... there just wasn't much to her. She's so delicate. I'm often afraid of touching her, for fear that she'll just... shatter."

"I'm pretty sure she's more resilient than that," Aang muttered. Louder he asked. "What's she like?"

"Oh, well, she's quiet. Doesn't speak out much. I think she's nervous around people," Master Beifong said. Aang just stared at him. That couldn't be more wrong. By the second morning, she was already telling some of the filthiest, most hilarious jokes that Aang had ever heard. And she didn't seem to mind one bit being surrounded by what were essentially total strangers. On a hunch, he used just a sprig of airbending to move Toph's plates about a cun to the left. He was about to mention the things he'd observed on the trail, when he turned and saw her enter the room wearing in a white dress.

The white dress.

It had to be her. Toph had to be the girl from his vision. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she took her seat, and began to demurely eat her rice and dumplings. Which she knew the locations of, despite Aang's interference. He squinted at her, and she stared blindly back. He realized a question had been asked of him.

"Aang? Aren't you listening?" Katara asked, beside him.

"What?" he asked. He thought back, but couldn't grasp it. He had been distracted.

"Why did you come to the Earth Kingdoms, young Avatar?" Master Beifong asked.

"Oh. In order to become a proper Avatar, I need to learn earthbending, and this is the place to do it," he said, a little embarrassed to be so caught off guard. He looked at Toph's father. "Tell me, would Toph be an earthbender, by chance?"

"Well," the man said, as though uneasy. "When she was little, she got an inclination to learn, so we taught her what we could. But she's blind, and she couldn't master anything above the most basic forms."

Toph rolled her eyes, just a little. Aang had been watching for it. Aang leaned back a bit. "Well, I need to learn earthbending from the greatest earthbender the world has ever seen. Nothing less will do," he said. There, a tiny smirk on her face. "You know, mister Beifong, I think your daughter might be a bit better than she l– ough!"

Aang's granite chair had suddenly shifted back, making him lose his balance. She demurely ate some meat balls, as though nothing had happened. Beside him, Katara had started talking. "You know, it wasn't easy to find this place? A lot of people didn't even know you two had a daughter."

"Well, how are we going to explain her condition to them?" Toph's mother asked. "If she had been blinded, that would be one thing, but she was born blind. These people are superstitious, and they might see that as some sort of curse from the gods."

"I wouldn't say she was cursed," Aang offered. "More like gifted. Especially in regards to her earth–" This time, his chair lurched forward, slingshotting his head into the soup bowl. He slowly pulled it out, glaring across the table. Toph took a delicate sip of her own soup. Oh, it was _on_, now. Aang pulled back, mimicking a sneeze, and used some airbending to launch what remained in his soup bowl into a gentle arc through the air. It flew slowly enough that just about anybody could have gotten out of the way. Toph, her milky eyes staring in Aang's direction, didn't even try to dodge. It landed squarely on her head, spilling soup down her. She got to her feet, standing so fast that the chair, which probably weighed eight times as much as she did, slid back and crashed into the wall.

"WHAT IS YOUR _PROBLEM_?" she shouted.

"WHAT IS _YOUR_ PROBLEM?" he countered.

"Aang?" Katara whispered. "What are you doing?"

Aang stared at the girl for a long moment, then turned to Master Beifong. "I apologize. I shouldn't have been so rude. I will leave you to your meal."

With that, Aang walked away. As he went, Toph's blind eyes followed him.

"You know, these meatballs are really, really good," Sokka said.

* * *

Night had stretched on. Aang stayed away from the small celebration that they'd thrown for his honor and for their daughter's return. The more he thought about it, the less this whole situation made sense. The swamp vision showed him the girl in the white dress. He heard her voice. The flying boar was even the symbol for this family! But despite everything, he couldn't get any traction with that girl. What was she hiding?

Gentle footfalls sounded at the door. He looked up, and there she was, hair cleaned again, after he'd dumped soup onto it. She looked at him, an absurd notion, considering she was blind. "Truce?" she asked.

Aang shrugged. "Truce," he agreed. "So what are you trying to hide from them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said flatly. Even Aang could tell she was lying. She just wanted to know what he knew.

"Blind people can't see," Aang said. Then he realized how idiotic that sounded. "I mean, you always know where everything is, where everybody is. And it can't be memory, because you watched me walking away. I think you know more about earthbending than you let anybody else know."

She sighed, then sat on the ground next to him, splaying out her bare toes on the stonework. "I was born blind, that much is true. But I can still 'see'. I see with my feet. When I was young. Well, younger... I ran away from home into the mines. When I was there, I learned from some badgermoles the secrets of earthbending. They're born blind too, just like me, but they always know where they are. They see using earthbending. It's seeing with the tremors that everything makes as it moves on or in the earth. I always know exactly where everybody around me is."

"I see. Why did you run away?" he asked. She scoffed and spat onto the floor next to her.

"Do you see what I lived with?" she demanded. "Nobody in town even knows that I exist! I'm just this family's dark little secret, something that nobody talks about. Was I so wrong to want to live my own life, to have something that I could claim was my own?"

"I don't understand why they think you're so helpless," Aang said.

"Yeah, well, being a tiny blind girl might have something to do with that," Toph answered. Aang pondered a moment, then turned to her.

"If you wanted to be self sufficient so badly, why did you beg us to bring you home?" he asked. She flinched, but didn't answer. He shook his head. "Toph, how good at earthbending are you?"

"Reeeeaaaally good," she said. She reached out, and with nothing but one hand and a few gestures, she bent a fresco of the house, in perfect detail, into the far wall. She smiled, then. "Hell, I'm probably the best earthbender in the world. Earthbending isn't something I do. It's who I am."

"Then be my teacher. Please, I need somebody like you," Aang asked. She turned to him, then shook her head.

"I don't think that's going to work, Twinkletoes. I don't teach, and I don't think you'd want to be my student," she said. Aang sighed, then he looked at her again.

"Toph, do you ever believe that friendships can transcend lifetimes?" Toph stared at him, looking perhaps a little bit shaken, but the look fled. She forced a scowl onto her face.

"Don't tell me you're spouting Air Nomad foolishness at me now," she said. "You know my dark secret. Can we just leave it at that?"

"No," Aang said. "What are you doing here?" Toph looked like she was going to give a sarcastic response, but she jumped to her feet, her head swinging to and fro. Aang stood with her. "Toph, what's wrong?"

"We're under attack," she said. An instant later, a great mass of stone came hurtling down the hall. Toph caught it and spun around, flinging it back whence it came. Another figure smashed down a wall and strode into the hall. Without looking, she cast a hand back. A pillar of stone slammed him up through the ceiling. She had just gotten back into her stance, quite unlike any earthbender's Aang had ever seen, when the wall in front of Aang's room, the wall with her fresco, was torn back and away. Chunks of stone flew at the girl, though, an slammed her arms and legs against the wall. A tall man, very dark of skin but clean shaven, stood just outside in a horse stance.

"Blind Bandit, you are ordered by law to stand down on twelve charges of burglary, twenty three charges of gamesmaking, three charges of pilfery, and one charge of imitating a holyman for monetary gain," the man said. He turned to Aang. "Gahj Muul. Please stay out of my way, child."

"You have no proof I did any of that," Toph shouted.

"We caught you red handed. One charge of attempted burglary is definitely going to stick," Muul said.

"Oh, please. That guy was drunk and he could never identify me."

"I'm talking about this one," Muul said peevishly. Toph let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh, right. Well, you got me there. But you made one mistake."

"What could that be?" Muul asked.

"You missed one of my feet," she said. His eyes widened, and she kicked a block of stone at him. As he dodged, she pulled away from the wall, wrapping herself in a complete armor of stone, and charged through the now vacant wall and into the gardens. Aang followed, pulling his staff to him. Outside, there were a number of other people. Muul had not come alone. Upon seeing Toph, they all attacked.

Aang sent a blade of air out, flinging one of them over the wall and into the street outside, while another moved to hurl a boulder at the girl. Aang quickly switched to waterbending and snatched him away with water from the stream. But Toph? She was a force of nature. When she landed, she sloughed her stone guise, and just stood, stock still as the bounty hunters ran at her. Then, a wide smile grew on her face. Her movements were perfect, each happening at precisely the right moment. A flick of earthbending for maximum effect. Again. Somebody tried to wrap her in chains, but she dropped out of view, only to appear directly behind him, traveling through the stone, and flicking him hard, over Aang's head and putting him through the walls of her house.

Aang fought against one man with a truncheon who just didn't know when to quit. Aang couldn't break him with airbending, and he stayed in the wrong spot for waterbending. Aang began to bend small bolts of fire at him. Keep him moving, falling back. Nothing was intended to harm him; not by any means, but every moment the man defended, dodged, he wasn't moving at Toph. Aang had just set the man up when a column of earth shot out of the ground at an angle, and flung him into the air, through a window, and into a building across the street. Aang turned. Only Muul was left. He leveled his staff at the man.

"What did you come here for?" Aang asked.

"Justice," Muul said.

"Fei hua," Toph cursed. "You came here for money. Damn you, Muul! Do you know how close I was? I had everything set up, and you had to ruin it," she began to pace, and he followed her with his fists, but nothing else. "One more hour, and I would have been outta here, with every stinking cent that I could have carried. Then, I would've robbed the Avatar here blind, pun totally intended, of the reward money for finding me. But you had to show up and mess up my plans, didn't you, Muul. Well, however much I appreciate you smashing the Hell out of my parents' house, I've officially lost patience with you. Say goodbye, Muul," Toph said. Aang got in her way. She shouted up at him: "What are you doing, Twinkletoes?"

"Don't do this, Toph. You can't kill him!"

"Why not? He's just going to keep coming until he's dead or I'm in prison, and I'm a lot more comfortable with the former than the latter," she said. She scowled. "Besides, I was about to _rob _you."

"You still shouldn't do it," Aang said. "Please, I know in my heart that you're supposed to be my earthbending teacher, and I think you know it in yours, too."

"Don't even talk to me, Avatar," she said. He could feel her start to earthbend, but he hopped up as the earth slid, avoiding the toss she was attempting. He batted her aside with a ball of air, sending her flying into a shrub. Aang turned on Muul, but the bounty hunter was gone. Great. She got out of the bush, shaking with rage.

"Look what you did!" she shouted. "Now, he's going to keep hunting me! Do you know how much trouble that man has caused me?"

"I really don't, Aang admitted. "Why are you stealing from people?'

"If they aren't strong enough to protect it, then they ain't strong enough to have it, I figure," Toph said. She held out her hand, and the earth trembled under it. A large pack popped out of the ground, and she slung it over her shoulder.

"Please, Toph. You are the teacher I need. I know you can feel that it's true," Aang said.

"Get out of my way," she said, her voice low and angry. "I won't teach you anything. And if I hear you following me, I'll smack you down, you got that?"

"Toph," Aang said.

"Move," she said. He stared at her again. How had he messed this up so badly? Or did he just make the wrong assumption to begin with? He hung his head and stepped aside. Toph stomped out of the garden, creating a hole in the wall to walk through. He felt a hollowness in his soul, however. He was so sure. He sat down on the ground, staring at where she'd gone. It wasn't long before Katara and Sokka were out on the grounds with him. Sokka was still eating.

"Aang, what just happened out here?" she asked. He stared at all of the destruction, and hugged his knees.

"I think I might have just lost my earthbending master," he said.

And that night, as he lay unable to sleep, he thought of Toph. He thought of Zuko. He thought of all the Aangs that could have been, and all the friends that never were.

* * *

_Fei hua - 'bullshit', more or less._


	5. Heavy Rain

**All the Toph lovers in the world unite... so that you may all hate me properly. Toph is always this unbeatable titan. A force of nature. What if she wasn't? What if she only believed she was? What happened if somebody proved her dead, bloody, wrong? Toph is less badass here. She has all of her basic skills, but she's not as good at them. She can tell where people are with her earth-sounding, but she can't tell how they're standing, which direction they're facing. She can't sense body language, which, by canon, she could. Why did I make her less badass than everybody says she deserves? Because it fit. Bear in mind that I love her to death, and that my sadism comes from a loving place.**

**Also: Instead of the revelations in violence and tragedy that Zuko faced in 'Zuko Alone', he faces them with quiet introspection and seclusion. He's becoming a different person than he was. Not quite as angry. A bit more aware of his own feelings, and what he needs.**

* * *

Toph was mad. Not just because the Avatar pushed all of her buttons the wrong way. Not just because he ruined her chance at a perfect heist. Not just because Gehj Muul was still out there looking for an opportunity to make her life miserable. And not just because it was raining, and the mud made it hard to see. She was mad because she screwed up. She didn't like screwing up. And she liked it even less when people like the Avatar were around to see her do it.

She couldn't believe how she'd just opened up to him. More than a few times, she found herself saying things that she would never have thought she'd say, but out they came like they were the best and oldest of friends. She didn't like that. She was getting sloppy. If everything she said was a lie, nothing could really be used against her, and she'd told that kid unvarnished truth. She should have been ashamed of herself. Strangely, though, she wasn't. She was just mad.

"Just had to go and ruin my plans," Toph muttered. The white dress she was wearing was thoroughly ruined, but she'd left her hair pinned up. No reason to trip over it all the time. She wasn't going for pathetic right now. While her gait never faltered, sometimes, her vision did. The slick, sopping mud obscured her 'sight' with every step she took Usually, she saw best on hard, packed earth, or stone. She never learned to swim, mostly because it left her disconcertingly blind, and she stayed away from boats because she couldn't see through wood or metal, either. So, she was land-locked, but at least it was in the biggest continent on the planet. Plenty of walking-around room.

Friendships that transcend lifetimes. That was a dirty move. If she'd had the equipment, she'd have called it a low blow. She wondered where he heard it. Somebody must have told him about that. But how? She hadn't said it to anybody. She couldn't write, so she hadn't put it down anywhere. So how had he known? How had twinkletoes known that she dreamed in shapes and colors, that she dreamed of races up the mountain with the man in red robes? She huffed, and kicked a rock out of her way. It didn't do her any good to muddle about in that sort of thinking. It was girlish. The thought that she was a girl, and thus allowed to think girlishly, never occurred to Toph.

She felt heartbeats approaching. She stopped, stepping to the side of the road. They were quadrupedal, and moving fast. Not ostrich horses, obviously. And they weren't heavy enough to be rhinos. They came stampeding toward her, but one of them slowed down. The others moved past, but then turned back.

"_Oh, look at this poor little thing,_" the woman's voice came. It was full of energy and vim. It gushed everything it said. "_She looks so cold and alone._"

"_What? Now we're just picking up runts?_" another voice, also a woman, but this one cold and detached. She tried to hide it, but she felt things. She just obviously never let them reach her voice.

"_We don't have time to stop and play with peasants, Ty Lee. We have a mission to undertake,_" the last voice was imperious, there was no better way to describe it. It was the voice of a woman who was used to demanding things and having them done. And all of them spoke in Huojian.

"Missions? Don't make me laugh," Toph said. She pointed the way they had come. "The Omashu garrison is two hundred li that way. I won't tell your CO that you're running off playing spy."

"Who do you think you are, little peasant?" the hot bitch asked. That was how she decided to classify them. Hot bitch, cold bitch, and annoying one. Toph got a wide grin on her face.

"I'm the best damned earthbender in the world," she said.

"Really?" the hot bitch asked. Toph could practically hear a smirk on her. "You seem a mercenary sort, correct?"

Toph shrugged. "If the price was right."

"How would you like to earn a massive paycheck hunting down some traitors to the Fire Nation?" hot bitch asked.

"Is this wise?" cold bitch asked.

"Depends," Toph cut her off. "Who am I working for?"

There was a long pause. "You can't tell?" annoying one asked. Toph turned toward her, and waved her hand in front of her own face.

"You would be wise not to disrespect the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation," hot bitch said.

"Wait, you're Azula?" Toph asked.

"Crown Princess Azula, peasant," Azula answered. Toph threw up her hands. Azula? That chick had a reputation. A lot of the Fire Nation brass did, but hers rose above all the others, and only needed two words to sum it up: Mentally unstable.

"No thanks. I don't want to be associated with psychos," Toph said. And she immediately regretted it, because Azula's heartrate began to soar.

"Such a pity," Azula said. Her voice didn't sound it. "For a moment, I thought you might have been useful to me. Instead, you're just target practice."

"Azula?" annoying one asked. She sounded terrified.

"Shut up, Ty Lee. And Mai, stay out of this. I'm going to enjoy this."

Toph had screwed up again. She lashed out, thrusting a pillar of stone at her. It hit something, but that something was four legged. Toph began to move into the woods which dripped with wet. She was half blind in here, with all the roots and whatnot, but then again, Azula would be, too. She felt a whisper of heat against her cheek, and brought up a wall just in time to deflect a blast of flame. That was the problem with firebenders. She couldn't hear how they were attacking.

She reached up, popping out a bevy of stones, and threw them in a wide arc in the general direction of the flame. This time, the sound of hissing water warned her, and she dove behind a tree. After the heat abated, she could still smell and hear the tree burning hard, even in the deluge. She waited, listening for a footstep, but this chick never stayed on the ground. Another whisper of heat from above, and she bent a shelf to deflect the heat away. Then, she hurled the shelf straight up. A cry of alarm, then a damned explosion. Toph moved away. This was definitely a mistake.

Toph waited, listened. There, finally, she touched the ground. The crazy chick's heartbeat was going like a forge in wartime. Toph could practically smell the hate coming off of her. Just one more moment. Toph smirked. She stomped out an piece of earthbending that buckled the mud under Azula's foot, causing her to stumble. Trapping her. Toph smiled, but only for an instant, because Azula let out a roar that Toph wasn't sure was entirely human. And heat approached. A lot of it. She threw out her hands to erect a wall, and the wall rose, but the fire blasted right through it. She felt the horrible, mind-tearing agony race through her, her hands and arms screamed of it. This was a mistake.

She couldn't beat this chick, she realized. And for the first time in her life, Toph Beifong, the Blind Bandit, ran like a little girl, vanishing under the earth into a cocoon the Princess couldn't follow. She felt and heard Azula pull herself out of the muck, that heart still going a mile a second. Then, she felt the words. "You claim you're the greatest earthbender in the world," Azula said. "But I don't think you've earned it yet."

Toph waited, and listened. An hour went by. Two. They were gone. They had 'bigger fish to fry'. Toph pulled herself out of her cocoon and staggered back toward the road. Right now, she was glad she was blind. She didn't want to look at her arms. She was afraid of what she'd have seen. But even if the pain weren't so unbearable, even if her defeat wasn't so complete, it was still shattering. Toph Beifong lost. Completely. She was alone, and powerless, and helpless. Just like they always said she was. And Toph Beifong started to cry, honestly and openly, for the first time in years.

* * *

Iroh woke suddenly, as he always did. There were no groggy dreams to shake off. It had been many years since he dreamed. Was that part of the spirit price he'd paid to Wan Shi Tong? He didn't know. The price he already paid was high enough. He looked out of the cave. It was still raining. A glance around the cave showed that Iroh was alone.

"Nephew?" Iroh asked. He repeated it, louder. There was no answer. He looked for Zuko's bedroll, but found it was gone. Iroh sighed, and sat for a moment at the cold fire pit. Had he been to harsh? Was he pushing the boy too hard, too fast? Zuko still ached for home, for the familiar, and Iroh was dragging him well outside his comfort zone. While Iroh could see why he was doing it, not just as somebody who had years of experience, but as one with an external view of things, he could definitely understand why Zuko would rebel.

Iroh took a deep breath, his eyes downcast. Had he failed? No. No, he refused to fail. Zuko just needed a little bit of time. Iroh gathered up his meager possessions. A tin cup, a few coppers and silver pieces. His hat. A single Pai Sho tile. So little, but it would have to do. He looked out into the storm. He had to follow his nephew, but at the same time, not make Zuko feel followed. He had to be there when the time was right. The world depended on it.

Iroh walked into the rain. An old man, walking alone in the forest. What a ridiculous notion. But he walked. He walked until the rain let up a bit. He walked until it began to drive down with hail, bouncing off of his hat, stinging his unprotected hands. He kept walking. This was some storm! Hail in the summertime! Sadly, his thoughts turned to _next_ summer. Time was running out. He could feel it in his old bones.

Iroh walked, and came to a farm. The family was not, as he expected, hunkered down and waiting out the storm. They were running through the fields, shouting and panicking. Iroh stopped at their gate, looking in on their calamity.

"You there! Old man! We need help!" the farmer, a broad chested man with a long beard implored. Iroh gave a glance toward the road, but knew he was going to help them even as his feet started to move toward the farm.

"What is wrong?" he asked, his voice pitched to beat the wind and the rush of rain.

"The roof of the barn collapsed. All of my ostrich horses are stampeding!" the farmer shouted. Ostrich horses, now that brought back memories. He knew what he had to do.

"I need rope!" Iroh shouted back. The farmer tossed a short loop, but Iroh shook his head. "I need more than this! Many, shorter lengths!"

"You're going to have to make do!" the farmer said. And he ran out into the fields, where one dark brown shape was moving toward the road. Iroh moved, as his old body hated to do, but still had the vitality in it, and he went through all of those motions that he learned so long ago. His old hands formed the lasso, the kind that only worked on ostrich horses, not rhinos, not snow panthers, not any sort of lizard. He pulled the loop proper, and waited as another one ran toward him. He stepped aside, leaving the loop on the ground. As the ostrich horse ran over it, he pulled the line, and it wrapped around the feet of the creature, tripping it up and trapping it on the ground. He tied the bird tightly, so it couldn't just kick its way free, and then moved on.

Hours went on with this same routine. Make the loop, single out the terrified bird, snare it, cut the line, repeat. By the time the last birds were being droved back into the walled pasture, Iroh was chilled to the bone. But a dozen of the birds were tied and unable to flee. He sat against a tree, feeling the ache begin to work into his joints. Even fighting wasn't as draining as that was. He slumped, his eyes growing heavy, even as the hail kept pelting down.

"Come on, old man. We've got to get you inside," a woman's voice said. For just a moment, he thought of his wife. They had the same eyes, that green-brown. He'd had to lie through his teeth so that Azulon, his father, didn't realize her true heritage and have her exiled. Or killed. But how could he have lived without her? She completed his life. For a time, at least. But he was too old and, to his mind at least, too wise to give in to such fantasies. This was just a farmer's daughter, helping an old man into the warmth of the house.

Iroh just slid down into a corner by the fireplace, and let his heavy lids slide closed, thinking about his wife, and the times they shared together. Another, dreamless sleep passed, and his eyes slid open. Was it a night that he slept? He couldn't tell. It was still dark outside, but the family was about. Every part of him hurt. That was to be expected.

"Oh, so you're alright?" the farmer asked. "I was a little worried, the way you carried on today."

"I was tired. It's been a very long time since I wrangled ostrich horses for a living," Iroh said. And it was the truth.

"That was amazing," the daughter said. "I've never seen somebody capture ostrich horse like that before."

"It's an old secret from up near Ba Singh Se," Iroh said. He tried to get to his feet, but his knees ached furiously. It took him two tries. "You may call me Mushi. And you are?"

"I'm Song," she said. "This is my father Jeek."

Jeek nodded. "Where were you headed? We're well off the beaten track."

"I was just wandering the roads," Iroh said. "Trying to find my nephew. I'm worried about him."

"It's good to look after family," Jeek said. He looked at his daughter. "Now more than ever."

"How long did I sleep?"

"Not long. A few hours. It'll be dinnertime, soon," Song said. Iroh's eyes brightened a bit.

"Oh, dinner?" he said. He reached into his pockets, and pulled out his paltry sums of money. "Please, allow me to partake. It has been a long time, and my stomach is empty."

"We can't accept your money, Mushi," Jeek said. "You've already done something of great service to us. We could have lost half the herd today. Instead, I'll probably just have to ask the neighbors if they've seen the stragglers."

"I will accept this meal with grace and humility," Iroh said, bowing. Jeek laughed.

"You must be from Ba Singh Se. I've never heard that talk around my table before," he said.

"No. I've never been to Ba Singh Se. I came nearby once, a long time ago, but I never quite felt it was my time to live there," he said. Again, truth, from a certain point of view. He put a smile on his face. "But I thank you for your hospitality."

Dinner came out. It was peasant fare, but Iroh enjoyed it thoroughly. One had to take pleasure from the little things, or else find little pleasure in anything. He paused. That was a good one. He was going to have to tell that one to Zuko. Iroh talked about things which were probably forty years out of date, laughed at stories of farmers and fools, neighbors and friends. And he ached with them at stories of loss. The Weary War touched all peoples, these days.

"I want to ask you something," Iroh asked, as the conversation ran down. "Is it possible I could pay for one of those birds?"

Jeek looked like he was about to say something, but then sighed. "If that was all the money you had, then no. I'm sorry, Mushi, but even with the help you gave, I just can't give away my livelihood. Those birds put money in my purse and food on this table."

Iroh nodded. It had been a lot to ask. "I understand. I cannot expect you to go hungry for my convenience. Forgive my impertinence."

Iroh turned and moved back to that spot near the fireplace. It was comfortable enough for him. He let his eyes fall closed again, and let the dreamless sleep slide over him.

He awoke, as he often did, quickly. The rain was still coming down, but now, it was the patter of droplets of a shower, rather than the angry rattle of hail and storm. He rose to his feet, looking around the kitchen one last time. He knew he would never see it again in his life. There were more and more things, nowadays, that Iroh could say that same thing about. Pulling his hat onto his head, he walked silently out of the house. He had taken enough of these peoples' hospitality.

In the light rain of early morning, if it was in fact early morning, Iroh walked away from the house. Now, with the more abundant light, he could see that the damage to the barn was somewhat extensive. If he weren't pressed for time, he probably would have stayed and helped them fix it. But his nephew was out there somewhere. Somewhere, a lost child needed help. He just reached the turning off point when he heard the warking call of an ostrich horse. Under a tree, he saw a woman with a mount.

"A straggler, who escaped into the woods," Song said, guiding the bird out. "We never found him."

"I cannot accept this..."

"Please," Song said, her eyes sad. "We've all lost something in this war. Don't lose your family, too."

Iroh smiled, and he bowed low. "Thank you. This will help somebody in need. I know it."

Song smiled, then. It was a sad smile, the smile of somebody who'd lost much, and expected to lose more. Iroh had seen its like before. Sometimes in the mirror. He took the reins of the bird and walked away, and she faded into grey murk. He patted the neck of the beast. It was quite amiable, so he hoist himself onto its back. He knew where he had to go; he'd foreseen it. Zuko would be waiting, however it was he got there, at the place where three roads meet.

* * *

"Sorry, we don't serve children," the bouncer said. Azula was not impressed. No, she was furious. Not only had that little peasant run away and denied her her gratification, but she got her filthy before doing it. Azula was not in a good mood. That fire licking at her soul was stoked high.

You are a monster.

She got a smirk on her face. She _was_ a monster. She leaned close to the bouncer, a large man, earthbender by his bare feet and broad build, and whispered. "You are going to let us in," she said. "Do you know why?"

His gaze hardened. He wasn't afraid of her? Unusual. He crossed his big arms. "What reason could you possibly give that would get me to move?"

Azula smiled sweetly. "Because in twenty seconds, you'll either be unconscious, or dead."

His visage became one of professional focus. So this man wasn't just some village bully who became a bouncer; he was a soldier back from the front. She leaned down, gathering up the energy within herself. This fight was going to be very short. It became even shorter when Ty Lee, in her pink silks, jumped over Azula and pounded her fists into the chest and spine of the earthbending soldier-cum-bouncer. He folded up on himself like origami. Azula turned to Ty Lee.

"I had things perfectly in hand!" she shouted. Ty Lee recoiled a bit. The fire burned hot. It demanded destruction. It demanded blood. She fought to control it. She was not an animal. She was Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. If she didn't have control, she was nothing. The fire receded, and she tilted her head. A few seconds at most. "But your assistance made things much easier for me."

"You're welcome," Ty Lee said brightly. She was a woman who enjoyed every emotion she felt completely. Mai, on the other hand, who waited near the mongoose dragons, was about as perfectly Ty Lee's opposite as a woman could get. It was astounding that the three of them ever met, and ever became friends. With nobody guarding the doors, old friends walked into what had to be the roughest tavern in the southern Earth Kingdom.

There were two, completely independent barfights happening at the same time, on opposite ends of the building. Men drank and swore. Women drank and swore. People played games with knives that would likely only end when somebody had a finger cut off. It was so overwhelmingly barbaric that Azula considered just walking back outside, burning the place to the ground, and considering the world a better place for it. But she had a job to do, and a woman to locate. A glance around the bar, and the tables arrayed before it, gave Azula her target.

Azula walked over to the table. There were a number of seats around it, all of them occupied. She cleared her throat. A huge man, easily three times her size, turned toward her. "You are in my seat. Leave," Azula said. The man turned completely. His arm and leg were made of metal and he had a burning eye tattooed onto the middle of his brow. He stared at her with burning intensity. She stared back, burning just a little bit brighter. He got up, without saying a word, and walked away, leaving his seat vacant. She took it.

At the table, besides the men cheering drunkenly, was a large fellow, though not as monumental as he who had just left, dressed in a white gi and red bandanna, armwrestling with a smaller woman in black leather. He was straining like he was about to burst a blood vessel, while she calmly drank something that smelled like it could be used to strip lacquer. The woman turned to Azula.

"Don't see your kind in here very often," she said, not a hint of strain in her voice. Her opponent heaved and bellowed, but couldn't gain any leverage on her.

"I make it a habit to avoid cesspits like this," Azula said. "You are Jun?"

"And you'd be... Somebody with a lot of money?" Jun asked. Azula knew this woman recognized her. She wasn't exactly a low profile sort of person. Azula nodded.

"I'm looking to track down somebody. I hear that you are the greatest tracker in the East Continent."

"The world," Jun countered. She finished off her 'drink' and slammed the musclebound man's arm down so hard that he tumbled out of his seat. She turned to the barkeep. "Drinks are on him."

Jun turned and faced Azula. She was a darkly lovely woman. She and Mai seemed to have been cut from the same cloth. "So, who am I tracking?"

Azula began to smirk. "The Avatar."

"Do you have anything of his?" she asked. Azula frowned, then pulled out the towel he'd been wearing on his head in New Ozai. Jun took it, nodding, then turned back to the Crown Princess. "We'll leave soon."

"We'll leave _now_," Azula countered.

"In this weather?" Jun asked. She shook her head. "Not a chance. I'm not running Nyla through a storm. It's bad weather for her, and shirshu don't have the best immune systems. I'm not killing Nyla for any amount of money you can offer."

You're going to fail.

Azula's cheek twitched. No. She refused to be put off. She refused to fail and be anything like her brother. She would succeed. She would succeed if she had to burn the whole world to do it. It was the only way her father would be proud of her. "Listen here, _mercenary_..."

"When it gets warmer, different story. This bad weather can't last forever. She can run in the rain, or the cold, just not both," Jun continued, speaking over Azula. She stood, pointing at her fallen opponent. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink until that man's wallet is empty."

"Wow," Ty Lee said, sitting on the edge of a table. "She's really tough. I wonder if Mai's related to her?"

"Doubtful. Let's find some place to spend the night," Azula said. A smirk came to her face. "We hunt the greatest of all targets: The Avatar."

* * *

Zuko thought as he walked. He wasn't completely sure why he walked away from the cave, but he knew he had to. There was a fire burning inside him, one he didn't trust himself to control. Ever since he was born, his life was disappointment upon failure, upon slip-up, upon tragedy. A firebending son part of the legendary firebending house, but so weak that even his six year old sister could outdo him. For him, blue was the color of shame. She was so much better at him at everything he did. People listened to her. People obeyed her. People loved her. But him? They reviled him. They called him the Dark Prince and scorned him.

And it was his fault. It didn't matter what he tried to do, it always blew up in his face. From his first showcase of his firebending to his grandfather, it was always so. He was so sure that Azulon would approve, but he screwed it up, just like everything else. What was supposed to be graceful and glorious and powerful was weak, guttering, pathetic. Mother rushed to his side, trying to comfort him, even as Azulon ordered them out. She always did that.

His thoughts turned to his mother as he walked through the deluge. How long had it been since she was banished? So long. He could still remember her face, but her voice, it was fading away from him. He considered looking at her picture, but with this much wet, it would probably just get ruined. So he just remembered her kind, soft eyes. The long face with that slow smile, almost like she didn't want anybody but Zuko to see it. He stopped walking for a moment. Uncle always wondered why he wanted to go home. In a way it was because his mother couldn't. He just wanted something that was familiar, something that was _his_.

He started walking again. He didn't even know where he was going. Only that he had to walk, to keep that fire from burning anything he cared about. His thoughts turned to Mai. Where would she be, right now? He shook his head. There was no point in thinking about her. She was probably already married off. Just thinking about that stabbed him in the heart. He remembered well the way she talked about her father. The man was ruthlessly, upwardly mobile. It would serve him right if he ended up slotted into some nowhere position and left to rot there.

His stomach rumbled. He found he was quickly getting used to being hungry. He didn't like that fact one bit. The rain came in fits and starts, now. Nothing one minute, and a flood the next. The only real luck he'd had was that his boots, good Fire Nation leather, stood up to the abuse. He'd hate to have to walk this barefoot. He had so little to his name. A pilfered hat. That old knife Iroh gave him before Mom disappeared. A pair of stolen dao, that weren't even weighted properly. He'd had to fix that. As he walked, his mind went back.

"Dad's going to kill you!" Azula said, her voice sing-song. She was shorter then, and he was so much younger. He could barely remember being like that. Zuko looked up from the turtle-duck pond where the little creatures quacked amiably. He looked at her, his face scrunched up.

"No he isn't. Stop lying, Azula," Zuko said.

"I'm not lying," Azula countered. Even that young, there was something in those eyes. "I listened in on Dad's conversation with Granddad. Did you hear? Uncle Iroh lost his son at Ba Singh Se."

"What?" Zuko asked. "Lu Ten is dead?"

Lu Ten had been like an older brother to Zuko. For a while, anyway. When he got older, he stopped paying attention to Zuko, stopped playing. Stopped caring. Still, he was family. Azula nodded, smirking. It was not the first time she smirked that way only she could, and it wouldn't be the last.

"And since Iroh refuses to take another wife, his bloodline has ended," Azula said. "Dad just reasonably enough told Granddad that with the family line on that side extinguished, he should be the one to be the next Fire Lord."

"Dad, the Fire Lord?" Zuko asked. It didn't seem possible.

"Yup. And when he said that, Azulon was _angry_. He said that it was a disrespect to Lu Ten's memory and Iroh's honor. He said that Dad should have to suffer the same pain of loss that Iroh did if he ever wanted to be Fire Lord," she smiled at him. "As I said. Dad's going to _kill_ you."

That was the beginning of the last day Zuko saw his mother. Zuko felt the knife riding his belt. It was made in Ba Singh Se, a trophy that had been sent home a year or so earlier. Those were happier times. How had he fallen so far? The answers didn't come. He just tried to keep moving. To keep that fire from spreading.

* * *

Aang worked his firebending. It was hard; despite how simple it had been to catch the first points, it was like he'd reached a plateau, and well before he should have. The things he could do with firebending were so below what he saw Azula, or even Zuko doing, that he knew he couldn't compete. He understood why, though. Jee was a soldier. He firebent as a soldier and he taught firebending as though a soldier. He wasn't a firebending master. There was a philosophy behind every kind of bending. His own, of mobility and evasion, of avoiding and evading. Waterbending, the overwhelming defense which could change in a heartbeat into attack, as mercurial and unpredictable as the sea. But Jee had no philosophy to give. No koans to consider and no underlying truths to the element to expose. He was a soldier.

Aang punched those bolts of fire. They were weak, now. The night was upon them, and when the sun fell, so did his connection to the flame. He knew there was a reason for that, but he couldn't puzzle it out. Not on his own. So he put more effort into every bolt. Making it larger, hotter, as though that would somehow make him better at it. He had to get better. That woman almost killed Bumi, and he couldn't do anything to stop her. He needed to be able to match her strength for strength.

He felt tired. He felt exhausted. But he kept training. Punching the fire through the rain. Water against fire, each trying to destroy the other. There was a tension with water that Aang could feel with every blast. The elements weren't complete opposites; they had something in common with each other. They were compliments to each other, but each was so different. Maybe it was just because he was an airbender, because he could see each of them from an outside perspective? Aang hurled his fire at the targets, real and imaginary, trying to get more power into the flames. Could he make them blue?

A crunch sounded near him, and he spun, blasting out a bolt of fire. Then came the scream, and Aang's eyes went wide. His lip quivered and he couldn't believe what he'd done.

"Aang! You burned me!" Sokka shouted, holding his arm away from himself. He ran off into the woods. Aang shook his head, dazed like a clubbed penguin. No. This couldn't be happening. And yet it was.

* * *

Little good came from her first few weeks at the North Pole. Katara knew that for a fact. Finding a waterbending master, but being refused tutelage because she was a girl still burned with her. But there was one good thing which came of it; she learned that even as water could be used to fight, it could also be used to heal.

On her last day in the North Pole, before heading south to General Fong and his insane ideas of shackling the Avatar State, she stopped by Yugoda, the chief healer of the community. Yugoda was an old woman, a strong waterbender, but relegated to healing alone. She probably couldn't have made a water whip of her life depended on it. But what she knew, she gave to Katara without hesitation or question. After the siege was broken, Katara found herself practicing with Pakku in the mornings, and Yugoda in the evenings.

"I want to give you a gift," Yugoda said. "It's water from the Spirit Oasis,"

"I don't know what to say," Katara said. "Thank you."

"It's special, linked to the spirit world itself," Yugoda said. She paused, staring at Katara. "My, but you look like your grandmother. She was a good friend of mine, so long ago. I think, if she really wanted to, she might have become a waterbender. She just never had the drive. But you do."

"I know," Katara said, shrugging a bit. Yugoda moved a bit closer, as though against somebody overhearing.

"Despite what they say, women are always the stronger waterbenders," she whispered. "Men have the moon which empower them. We have... other cycles."

"What do you mean, master Yugoda?" Katara asked.

"When you first experience the Blood Moon, you'll know," Yugoda said. Katara still didn't know what that was about. But she knew that the full moon was approaching. She always felt strongest when the moon was full in the sky. Which happened more often, since now it seemed to appear late in the day and early in the morning, too. She was pretty sure it hadn't done that... before the Siege of the North.

She worked her waterbending, healing her brother's burns. Aang sat next to Appa, looking miserable. She wanted to help him, too, but there was only so much Katara to go around. Sokka just stared as she ran the water over and through him, as the flesh knitted back together as though it had never been seared.

"It still feels tingly all over," Sokka complained.

"Just be glad you can feel it at all," Katara said sharply. She didn't really want to be mean to her brother, but she was having one of those moods. She turned to Aang. "And what were you doing, just throwing fire all over the place? Don't you realize that we're all out here? You could have killed somebody!"

"I'm sorry," he said. She could tell he meant it. He shook his head. "I just didn't know what to do. I've lost my earthbending master. I can't match the firebenders I fight. I can't keep up. I'm supposed to be the Avatar! I'm supposed to be the best..." he sighed, staring at his feet. "I'll never firebend again."

"No," all eyes went to Sokka, who was now flexing his newly healed hand. "No, you'll firebend again. You'll do it whenever you need to. You'll do it to protect us, and to protect yourself."

"But I..."

"Aang, you're the Avatar, yes, but you're also human. You made a mistake," Sokka said. He suddenly grinned, showing his hand. "And I'm not holding it against you. Look! All better!"

"But you..."

"Aang, should I throw away my boomerang? My club and machete?" Sokka asked. Aang leaned back, suddenly confused.

"No, why would...?"

"They're all weapons. If I'm not careful with them, they could really hurt somebody. They were _intended_ to kill things. But if I were to just throw them away because they _might_ hurt somebody, even somebody I care about, then I'd be giving up, and letting the bad guys win," Sokka said. He stared up to a slightly brighter patch of the sky. She knew he was looking at the moon. "I don't intend to lose anybody else I care about, Aang. Even if that means I make mistakes. I'll make them, and I'll live with them. And so will you."

"Wow. For a second there, you sounded a lot like Dad," Katara said.

A goofy grin shot back onto Sokka's face. "Really? Huh. I'm going to have to write that one down, then. I might need to motivate you again in the future."

"Motivational or not, Sokka's right," Katara said. "We need everything we can get if we have to face that firebender, the knife woman, and... Ty Lee, again."

"What was up with that?" Aang asked.

"I really don't know," Katara muttered. She looked at Sokka, but he just shrugged. It wasn't that long ago that she had been fighting beside them, _against_ the Fire Nation. What had changed? Or had they just all fallen behind? Katara wished for simpler times. Aang, Sokka, and Katara against Zuko. Clear enemies. Clear goals. Right now, she just felt lost.

* * *

The usual click-pat of ostrich horse footfalls was obscured by the splat of mud. The rain was stronger now. It had been raining for days, and it gave no sign that it would be letting up any time soon. Iroh looked into his pack, letting out a sigh as he did. All of his high-minded talk about not stealing, and he did exactly that. But he knew he was going to need everything he had. It would be life or death. And life always came before wealth. At least, that was how he tried to justify it.

He'd left what little money he could behind as some partial recompense. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. He moved along the road, trying to keep the bird out of the truly nasty spots. It wouldn't do him to have his mount pull up lame. It was a gift. He named it Choko. The rain kept pounding on his hat, and he kept moving, toward the place where three roads met. He wondered who would need the medicine. Zuko? He hoped not. He'd been burned enough.

Iroh stopped, pulling his mount around. The forest here had been burned, and very recently. That was impossible. No fires could have started in this weather, and never spread throughout the forest like that. He hopped out of his saddle. "Stay here, Choko. I'll be back in a moment."

Iroh followed the destruction. Not just fire, but firebending, and powerful, too. There was also strong signs of earthbending, but this wasn't the site of some battle. If there was one thing Iroh knew, it was battlefields. This was a duel. One on one. It was almost like an Agni Kai gone horribly wrong. He leaned down, running a hand along a burnt, blasted rock. What had happened here?

He heard a clipped cry. He turned, and moved toward it. Huddled in the hollow under a tree was... that little blind girl from the box. The one who almost buried Zuko. Iroh leaned down. "Are you alright, little girl?"

"I'm fine," she said, but her voice was wracked with sobs, like she wanted desperately to stop crying, but just couldn't. Iroh could see why. Her arms from her fingertips all the way to her elbows were horribly burned. "Go away, old man."

"You're badly hurt. I have some medicine you can use," Iroh said. She just snapped her eyes up at him. They were glazed and empty, and yet she was neither dead nor mad. Was this little girl blind?

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, her voice still quivering.

"Do I need a reason?" he asked. She stared at him, tears still in her eyes, then she winced, and began to walk forward, trying so hard to keep anything from touching her arms. Iroh took off his cap and held it over them so the rain wouldn't hit them.

"I can't feel my hands," she whimpered. She was so different from the last time he saw her. She was brash and fiery, almost to the point of arrogance. But this little girl was afraid, her confidence broken. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Mushi," Iroh said. Technically the truth. He reached into his pockets and pulled out the ointment, and gently rubbed it into her hands and arms. "This will numb the pain, and help you to heal," he said.

She stared at him, her eyes watering, before she hanged her head. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'd slug your arm, but..."

"I consider myself slugged," Iroh said. He began to wrap her arms in bandage. It wasn't much, but she would not become infected, and it would protect her. So Zuko wasn't the one who needed the medicine. "Come with me, little girl. I'm going to meet my nephew ahead."

"The angry jerk?" she asked, her voice still unsteady. "Won't he be mad at me... you know, for robbing him?"

"He'll be mad, but it won't be your fault," Iroh said. "He is in an angry period in his life, right now. Please. It would kill me to leave you alone out here, like this."

"I'll be fine on my own," she said harshly. Iroh knew even she didn't believe it. Without waiting for her to assent, he scooped her up and carried her back to his bird. She protested lightly, but stopped long before he reached the muddy road. Choko was waiting just where Iroh had left her. He put her at the fore of the saddle, and climbed up behind her.

"Thank you," she said, so quietly. He urged the ostrich horse forward.

"You never told me your name," Iroh said. She just tensed up in front of him.

"It doesn't matter," she answered.

* * *

Zuko walked, and Zuko thought. His hunger was his only companion, and it was one which was growing more insistent every day. How many days? He didn't even know. His legs were bone tired. He was soaked to the skin. The rain never stopped. There were just periods of darkness, then deeper darkness, receding to simple darkness. Zuko walked. His thoughts and his hunger walked with him.

In a way, he was already lost in the past. He remembered that evening, next to the turtle duck pond. Mother was with him, the most soothing presence he'd ever known. No matter what went wrong, all she had to say was "I'm here, Zuko. It'll be alright," and suddenly, it was. He tore off a chunk of bread and let it float on the water, and one of the ducklings gobbled it up. He turned to his mother with a smile.

"Hey, Mom! Look at how Azula feeds the turtle ducks!" he said. He took the remainder of the loaf and hurled it into the water, dousing the ducklings and sending the mother into a tizzy. Ursa's eyes got sad, then.

"Oh, Zuko. Why would you do that?" she asked. And Zuko's heart sank.

"I'm so sorry. I just..." but he didn't have words. Luckily, she didn't need words. She just looked at him, and gathered him up.

"It's alright, Zuko. I know you're sorry," Mom said. She looked up at the palace. A flash of red shot out of one of the windows near the top. "But Azula... Something just isn't right about her."

"Zula's just mean," Zuko said grumpily. She was always the center of attention. Ursa turned back.

"It's more than that. She won't let me talk to her," Ursa shook her head slowly. "Sometimes I wonder what your father is telling her."

Zuko snuggled in on his mother. He was old enough that he probably shouldn't, but he was one of the only real comforts that he had. He looked up at her. "Is it true?" he asked.

"Is what, Zuko?" she asked.

"What they say about Dad?"

Zuko walked, and his thoughts, his hunger walked with him. Looking back, that was the saddest he'd ever seen his mother. No matter how hard he tried, that was always the expression that he remembered on her. That tragic sadness. But he knew, for just a brief moment, there was a flicker of rage. She left, going to talk to her husband. She left him alone with his fears.

It was late at night. Zuko had been asleep, dreaming he couldn't-remember-what. But there was a squeak at his door; that hinge never sat exactly right since Great-grandfather Sozin built the palace. It was a reminder of what Zuko was; not worth any real effort. He looked up, and his mother was standing over him. She had that look in her eyes.

"Zuko, my darling," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"What's wrong, Mom?" he asked.

"People are going to say things," Ursa said. "They're going to say dark, and awful things, but Zuko, please. Promise me that you'll just remember one thing. Promise me that Zuko."

"I promise."

She smiled. It was the last time he'd ever see her smile. "Please, remember who you are, no matter what happens; I will always love you."

And then she walked away, throwing a hood up over her hair. The next day, Azulon was dead, and Ozai was Fire Lord. Rumors spread of assassination, of usurpation of the throne. Ozai quieted those rumors quickly, and utterly. And no small bit bloodily. Then, it was business as usual. Azulon became Fire Lord despite being the youngest child of Sozin, because he was the only child to be alive after Sozin died. This was politics. It was cruel, and violent.

Mother vanished in the night. Nobody ever spoke of her again, nobody knew where she had gone, or if she even lived. All he had to remember her by was a picture in his pocket and a promise he made, that might as well have been in a dream. And Zuko was alone. All of his comfort was gone. Well, not all of it. He still had his friends. He had Ty Lee and Mai. He had his sister, more or less. And when Iroh came back, he took a distinct interest in Zuko almost immediately. But no amount of friends or... Uncle... could replace Ursa. Could replace Mom.

Zuko walked. His anger walked with him. He turned his eyes to the heavens, staring through the rain. "So what? Is that it? Is that all that you've got for me?" He roared into the rain and thunder. "You've taken everything that I ever loved away from me! You took my mother! You took my father! You took my home and everybody who cared about me! And you did it when I couldn't do anything but cry!"

Zuko moved to a stand of rocks near the road, and began to clamber up them, to get at least a bit of height above the mud and dirt. "Well here I am!" He screamed. "I've got nothing left! Do your worst! Go ahead and try! I'm stronger now. I can take anything. And now, I can give it back!" Zuko said, slamming one fist into the air. A huge plume of ruby flame seared into the sky. "Come on! Is that all you have for me?" He slammed his other fist into the air, and a bright yellow flame shot up, boiling the water even as it fell.

He panted for a few moments. "Mom. I'm sorry," he whispered into the rain. "I can't remember your voice," he said. His hat was on the rock beside him; it had fallen off at some point. He reached to the heavens one last time, and let a scream, every ounce of his pain and hatred and rage, fly out of him. A column of fire extended into the sky, higher then ever, so hot and bright it almost burned green. And then, it was gone. Zuko was empty. There was nothing left. He slid to his knees and, as though a puppet with his cords cut, slumped to the rock. There was no rain. There was no rock. All there was was a lonely boy, looking for his mother.

* * *

**For the record: It's hard to write Iroh and _not _make him either badass or heartwarming. Or both.**


	6. Blood Moon

**This was fun to write, but not easy. Hard to keep everything in place. I almost completely screwed up the last duel between everybody and Azula, but I fixed it. Now, big things: Azula is scary powerful. Everybody together is what it takes to beat her, and she's still growing. She's why this was a sprint, and not a marathon. At the same time, we're seeing Katara at her absolute most powerful, which is nothing to sneeze at. The Blood Moon will come up again. I can promise you that.**

**Also: the scene between Zuko and Mai is pretty much the entire reason I started this project to begin with. Needless to say, I hope I didn't screw it up.**

* * *

Toph tried to reach for the bowl again, but every time she moved her fingers, Iroh could tell, it was the most exquisite agony for her. The ointment may have dulled the pain, but there was still a _lot_ of pain. He leaned down, and held the bowl up for her.

"I can do it myself," she said. Her voice was steadier now. But he knew she was just saying that. She didn't fight as he helped spoon the food into her mouth. "You can stop treating me like an infant."

"Not an infant," Iroh said. "A wounded soldier. You shouldn't turn away help from others simply because it isn't coming from you. When people want to help you, it isn't always for their own personal gain. I never expected to see you on that road, but I am thankful that I did."

She smiled a bit. "You're just saying that so I won't feel like such a wuss," she said.

"Maybe a little," Iroh smiled, and she ate his offered food. Although Iroh had come to this waystation where the three roads meet in good time, he was well ahead of anybody else. It was a case of having a destination, but not a date. Still, it was better than trying to find Zuko in the wilderness. Zuko would just come to him.

"So," Toph said. "What's up with your nephew, anyway? Why are you always looking out for such a hate-filled little twerp?"

"I wouldn't call him hate-filled," Iroh said, reaching down and taking his own tea. It was poor, local tea, but any tea with friends was good tea. "He is just lost, both in the world and inside himself. I just want to make sure that, in both cases, he knows that there will always be a proper path for him to walk."

She nodded. "He should be glad he's got somebody like you looking after him," she said.

"I think, in his way, he is," Iroh nodded. He looked her over again. "You seem to want so badly to be independent. Why do you still fight me when I try to help?"

"I can take care _of_ myself, _by_ myself," she said. But Iroh knew she didn't believe it. She wanted to hug her knees, but she couldn't even do that. Iroh nodded.

"There is no shame in having those that love us take care of us, even in our times of weakness. There is strength that comes from knowing, beyond any doubt, that no matter what comes, others will be there for you," Iroh said.

"I guess," Toph muttered. She looked up with a smirk. "Does that mean you _looove_ me?"

"You and I have shared tea, and many of my best relationships have started that way. But I just saw somebody I knew I could help, and it made me feel good by helping you," Iroh said. The girl stared for a moment, then reached for her pack. Iroh moved and got there first. "What are you looking for?"

"Just let me... You're staring at me again, aren't you?" she asked. She sighed. "Front compartment, right at the top."

Iroh blindly reached in, and pulled up the first thing that he felt, much as she probably would have. He held a small, jade jewel, on a fine golden chain. Its craftsmanship was exceptional. He turned to her. "What is this?"

"I want you to have it. Consider it payment, for looking after me while I was... all useless... and stuff."

"No," Iroh said. "I will not accept any payment for my kindness. Besides, Toph Beifong, this belongs to you, and you alone."

"What are you talking about, old man?" she asked. He gently reached forward and set the jewel through her hair, letting the jade rest upon her brow. "What are you doing?"

"This is where it belongs. It is the treasure of Beifong, the Perfect Jade. I saw it, once, a very long time ago. It wasn't mine to have then, and it is not, now. It is yours alone."

She sighed, leaning back on the wooden chair in the way-house. There was a smile on her face. "You're a weird old dude."

Iroh smiled. "I suppose I am. So please, tell me of your other adventures. I find them so interesting..."

* * *

The rain pounded down. How many days had it been storming like this? Would it ever end? Zuko rolled to one side, trying to banish a lifetime's worth of bad dreams. Something occurred to him. He was dry. Well, dry-ish. And he was under an overhang in the rock. And, most startlingly, there was a fire burning.

"Uncle?" Zuko said as he bolted upright.

"Really? Now that's just insulting," a voice came. It was cold, dispassionate. Like it didn't want to care about anything. He looked over to the far end of the overhang, and a woman was staring at him. She was probably as tall as he was, and her hair was so black it shined. At first, he didn't recognize her, but then he saw her eyes in the flickering firelight. That almost impossibly bright grey.

"Mai?" Zuko asked.

"Zuko," she said back, coldly. For just an instant, a smile pulled onto his face. It actually hurt a bit; he wasn't used to smiling.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He frowned. "Did Father exile you, too?"

"He's eased up on the banishing somewhat. At least, eased up on _admitting_ that he's banishing people," she said. He just stared at her. It was almost like he awoke into a dream.

"You look good," he said, awkwardly.

"You look like Hell," she answered. Agni's blood, why was he always such an idiot around women?

"So... How have you been?" he asked. She shuddered a bit when he said that. Damn it all, had he asked the wrong thing again?

"Not great," she said, although none of it showed in her voice. "Got kicked out of Sozin City with my parents and had to live in Omashu for a year or so. Some 'promotion', that was."

"That must have been horrible."

"Tell me about it," Mai rolled her eyes. "That place made me want to rip my own eyes out. At least it's not my problem anymore. And I hear you're going around 'saving' Earth Kingdom villages. With the Avatar, no less. What's that about?"

Zuko glanced back to the fire. That was downright embarrassing. No, infuriating. Zhao had definitely gone over the line. Every time Zuko thought about Zhao's demise, he knew it was well earned. And it made Zuko think of what the Avatar had said at the North Pole. Was he even doing the right thing, with this quest. "I didn't have a choice. It was either help him then and there, or lose him to an idiot who didn't understand what he was dealing with."

"You have that problem a lot, don't you?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Have you... I mean, did you ever get... You're that age," Zuko tried to say, not really trusting himself to hear the answer. He moved a little closer.

"My father did have me all picked out to marry some young fool of a noble," Mai said. "I kinda liked him, too. But then the idiot had to go and get himself burned and exiled. I've been sternly telling Mother that I wouldn't be 'replacing' him."

Zuko stared at her. After all this time? "I've missed you," he said.

"Shut up," she said idly. But she blushed a little.

"So what are you doing _here_?" Zuko asked. She inspected her black lacquered nails for a moment before answering. He moved a little closer.

"We're running down the Avatar. You're lucky I even found you. Don't you know you're supposed to sleep under the rock, and not on top of it?" Mai asked. "I swear, you're pretty helpless sometimes."

"I'm practically starved, too," he said. There was a heat in his voice, and it wasn't anger. It was a good heat. She just stared at him. There was no revulsion there, no disgust. No glancing at the burns on his face and turning away.

"I'm also here to capture you and Iroh," Mai said. Zuko didn't really care. He'd be happy to be captured by Mai. Wait, did that make any sense? He decided, as before, that he didn't care. "Where is that crazy old man, anyway?"

"You shouldn't talk about Uncle that way," he said. He was very close to her, now. He could feel her breath on his cheek.

"My, haven't you two gotten close?" she asked. Her dispassionate tone was beginning to slip. There was a look in her eyes. A hunger. Zuko was fairly sure she could see the same in him. At this moment, this wasn't a dirty hole under a rock. This was home.

"What were we talking about?" Zuko asked.

"I can't remember," Mai said. She reached up and grabbed his face, pulling him into a burning, passionate kiss. She pushed him backward until he was slumped against the back wall, locked in that embrace. He probably couldn't have gotten out if he wanted to. And he didn't want to. But, like every other good thing in Zuko's life, it came to an end. She just lay there, atop him, running her delicate hands along Zuko's beard.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Zuko whispered.

"That's because you're an idiot," Mai answered. But she was smiling. After a few, happily numb minutes, she rose, dusting herself off a bit. "I have to go back to your sister."

Zuko looked at the fire for a long moment. "I understand."

"Now, when I leave here, I'm going to forget to bring along the other mongoose dragon. And when I come back to look for it in a half hour, it's not going to be there. Am I understood?"

"Not really," Zuko said. Mai groaned.

"Follow the trails and keep out of sight. You might yet have your Avatar and you stupid honor."

"Don't call my honor stupid," Zuko said, a bit annoyed.

"Watch me," she walked into the rain, opening an umbrella. She stopped and turned. "It was good seeing you."

"You have no idea."

* * *

Katara stared at the rain. It was really starting to get on her nerves. While it was at first sort of a blessing, as though the world wanted to bless her with her element, after a week, it got old. It got very, very old. Sokka whistled a tune as he ran a whetstone over his boomerang. Aang just meditated in the dark and the rain.

"This is driving me nuts," Katara said. "When is this rain going to stop?"

"Sooner or later. It is monsoon season, right?" Sokka said idly.

"Still," she muttered. Aang was taking things... better, all things considered. He still trained himself hard, but she hadn't seen him firebend since the accident. She hoped he wasn't losing faith in himself. He was the Avatar. He was the only real hope they had left.

Sokka stopped grinding his boomerang, and began to sniff loudly. "Do you smell lightning?"

"Monsoon," Katara said.

"Yeah, but not since yestar–"

They were cut off when a blinding fork of blue lighting tore through their camp. Aang dove out of the way, as it slammed into the spot he had been meditating, sending up mud and gouts of flame. It did not come from above. Sokka took his feet, and Katara began to bend water up from the ground.

A dispassionate voice said something in Huojian, followed by Ty Lee's exhuberant declaration: "Oh, give her a break. Like you could have hit him in the storm."

"Show yourselves!" Aang shouted.

"Why would we do that?" the firebender's voice came from the darkness. It coiled and smoked like a snake made out of fire. "I can see you all perfectly."

Sokka scowled, then upended the dinner pot into the fire, dousing it. There was a long pause. "I can't see them any more, Azula," Ty Lee said.

"Quiet, you little monkey!" the firebender snapped. A bolt of blue flame shot out of the forest, and Katara flung up the water to quench it. It exploded into steam. Then others. She fired bolts of fire with blinding speed, and she couldn't hope to defuse them all. She needed more water. She called up all the water she could.

And every drop answered her. Not a puddle, not every puddle. Every drop of water nearby. She could feel it all. She knew what it felt like to have the full moon staring down at her. This was more. She snapped it shut, making an enormous blob of water which hung, perfectly spherical, in the air. Then, she let it explode outward at the firebender. From the corner of her eye, she saw the dark girl moving amongst the shadows, knives in her hands.

Sokka leapt into the intruder's path, knocking away the knives with his club. From mid-air, no less. If she wasn't as involved in trying to ward off the firebender, she would have been impressed. Even as it was, with her massively, and inexplicably enhanced waterbending, she was just drawing even with this firebender. Aang worked with her, trying to keep the firebender from closing in, from getting near Appa and Momo.

"What do you want from us?" Aang shouted. Katara almost rolled her eyes. It seemed fairly obvious.

"You're the Avatar," the firebender taunted, letting out a cutting arc of azure fire that only both benders could diffuse. "You should know how this works, by now. Unless you're as brain-dead as the waterbender's brother."

"Hey!" Sokka said, still intercepting arrows and knives, keeping the dark woman off of Katara's back. A thought occurred to Katara. Where was Ty Lee?

"_We need to get out of here,_" Katara shouted to Aang in Yqanuac. "_We can't beat these girls!_"

Aang glanced her way, then nodded. "Appa! Yip-yip, buddy!"

The bison rose into the sky, swooping toward Aang and Katara. The grim woman, seeing them try to escape, hurled herself toward Katara, but Sokka was in the way as usual. He hooked her with his club and boomerang and twisted her into the mud with a laugh. But before he could even turn to get onto Appa, a streak of pink silk flashed across the distance and collided with him. Sokka and Ty Lee rolled out of sight. "Sokka!" Katara shouted.

"Come on, Appa, we've got to get him," Aang said. But the firebender got a smile on her face. An evil, dangerous smile. She swept her hands around, loud crackling and blue light filling the air, and she thrust forward. Katara forced all the water in the area into a thick, dense wall of ice. The bolt of lightning the firebender hurled destroyed it utterly. Katara looked around. Sokka was nowhere to be seen, and the firebender was readying another bolt. She called again, and this time, there wasn't nearly as much water to bend. She hurled it at the woman, but it only threw off her aim a bit, and the flash of lightning shot just beside Katara's head. The thunder deafened her.

The world became silent. There was only the bison, hovering in the air, the Avatar, the firebender, and Katara. The firebender looked like she was saying something, but Katara couldn't hear what. Aang glanced between Katara and the firebender. His eyes were as stormy as the skies. She could tell he was pondering two impossible choices.

"We can't leave Sokka behind, Aang," She said. Or tried to. She couldn't hear what came out of her mouth. He just stared at her. The firebender smiled triumphantly. His eyes went down.

"I'm sorry."

She couldn't hear the words, but she knew what crossed his lips. Then, Appa was rising. Away from the firebender and her cronies. Away from her brother. "What are you doing, Aang? We can't leave Sokka down there! GO BACK!" She grabbed his robes and turned him. His eyes were damp and she could tell it wasn't from the rain. And he said it again. I'm sorry, Katara. Appa flew away from the ambush, one passenger lighter, and Katara just collapsed in the saddle. She'd lost the only family she had left.

* * *

Sokka couldn't feel his... anything, really. Ty Lee sat on him, a scowl on her face. He forced a smile onto his features. "Well, it's been a while, hasn't it."

"I'm still mad you tried to kidnap Mai's baby brother," she said.

"I didn't _kidnap_ him. I merely _ransomed_ him," Sokka said. She just stared at him flatly. Then, she reached forward and flicked his nose. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Meanie," she said. The extremely pale woman and the firebender walked into view.

"Oh, great. She managed to capture the useless one," the pale one said.

"He's not useless, Mai. He's a good fighter and he's smart and he's obviously very pretty," Ty Lee said. So that one was Mai. That would make the firebender Azula.

"I suppose that speaks volumes about your taste in men," Azula said with a chuckle. She smirked. She spoke again in Huojian, and Sokka could only grasp that she was wondering why she shouldn't kill him.

"He might be a useful bartering chip. That kid does seem the type to martyr himself for his friends," Mai said flatly. Did she ever say something without it being flat? She stared at Sokka. "Great fighter? Could have fooled me."

"I was distracted!" Sokka shouted.

"You had best hold your tongue, peasant," Azula said. "You life is on the line. Where will the Avatar go?"

"Far away. Ba Singh Se," Sokka said. Azula did not look impressed.

"I'm going to repeat my question, and this time, you're not going to lie in a fashion which insults my intelligence, do we understand each other?" Azula asked. Sokka put on a grin. She would have been pretty if she wasn't so scary looking.

"They're heading for Full Moon Bay. That's where we've hidden our secret army of _bloodbenders_!" Sokka said. She reached down and grabbed his face, long sharp nails digging into his skin. It was actually rather painful. Ty Lee looked positively terrified.

"Insolent serf," she hissed. "Mai, get some answers out of him."

Mai looked mildly annoyed. "Oh, just because I'm Azuli, I'm the one who has to torture him? That's blatant ethnic stereotyping."

"Alright. I'm packed in," another woman's voice came, this one older. Sokka craned his neck, the only part of him he could still feel and control. He beheld a woman in black leather, leaning against a monster with a weird looking nose. He remembered her from when he'd run into Bato, last year. "Oh, hey, you got one of them. Wait. Sokka?"

"Hey, there pretty lady," Sokka said on impulse. Regrettable, considering he didn't have autonomous control of his anything.

"I've gotta say, I didn't expect you to get him. His sister, maybe, but not him first. You'd better be careful. She's going to be really pissed, and she's scary when pissed," the bounty hunter cautioned.

"Where do you think you're going?" Azula demanded. "I hired you to get me the Avatar. I don't have the Avatar, do I?"

"You hired me to _find_ the Avatar," she countered. "_Getting_ him is a whole other contract, one I'm not willing to take. Last time, Sokka and his sister spooked Nyla so bad it took me a week to calm her down. I don't take contracts to capture the Avatar."

"I know. One of my prouder moments," Sokka said.

"Be thankful I don't hold a grudge unless it's about money," she said.

"I'm just pleased that I left an impression on you," Sokka said.

"Stop being smarmy, kid. I prefer older men," she laughed. If Sokka could have shrugged, he would have. No reason not to try.

"Then you will find him again," Azula said, dragging the bounty hunter's attention back to her. "Now."

The bounty hunter glanced at Sokka, at the other two, then rolled her eyes and looked back to Azula. "Alright. Consider this a personal gift to your father that I'm doing a two-fer."

"Your service to the Fire Lord will be remembered," Azula said dryly. Wait. Her father was the Fire Lord? Oh, that wasn't good. Even with the rain coming down, Sokka began to sweat. "I assume you still have the Avatar's trail?"

"Clear as day," the bounty hunter answered. There was a pause.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess you'll _never_ find him," Sokka said. The bounty hunter laughed. Ty Lee did to, and Mai just rolled her eyes. Azula stared daggers. Ty Lee dragged Sokka to her saddle and draped him over it like a bag of millet. And as quickly as the fight began, Sokka was a prisoner of the Princess of the Fire Nation.

"I'm still mad at you," Ty Lee said.

"How often do I have to tell you I didn't kidnap Mai's brother?" Sokka muttered as the lizard thing began to run with really remarkable speed along the ground. Sokka was glad he couldn't see the ground passing by. It probably would have alarmed him.

"You never came back," she said. "You said you'd be back, and I waited for a year on Kyoshi Island. Where did you go?"

"Oh, right. Sorry about that," Sokka said. He would have rubbed the back of his neck, but he still couldn't feel his arms. She was brutally good with that punchy-business of hers. "See, we weren't lying when we said we were headed north. We just sorta... stayed there for a while."

"And why would you do that? It's cold up there. And dark for half the year."

"That's a myth. It's only dark for about a week," he said. His voice went soft. "We saved the world up there. Did you remember, right around the end of winter, when the moon turned red?"

"Yeah, that was spooky stuff. And then when it vanished completely. Scary!" she said.

"One of your admirals decided it would be a good idea to kill the moon spirit," Sokka said. "We couldn't stop him. So somebody I cared about had to die to save the world."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. She patted him on the side of the head, staring down at him. Ty Lee didn't seem capable of staying angry for any length of time. "I just thought you'd forgotten about me and the time we had."

"Oh, trust me. I haven't forgotten our little dance lessons," he said suggestively. She rolled her eyes and flicked his ear. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Thinking you can flirt your way out of being my prisoner," she said. Well darn. So much for that idea. While he didn't really like being a prisoner of somebody who wanted to kill Aang, he couldn't fault the company. But something occurred to him.

"Why are you even here, anyway?" Sokka asked. "I mean, these two don't seem like the kinds of people you'd be friends with."

"Oh, we were friends a long time ago, back in Sozin City."

"You're from the Fire Nation?" he asked.

"Wasn't it obvious?" she asked. "Azula was one of the only people who ever paid any attention to me. She was just about the only person who could even recognize me. When I was with my sisters, even my parents couldn't remember which one I was, but she always knew. She is a good person, Sokka. Don't you say bad things about her."

"Fine, I won't," Sokka said, rolling his own eyes. A nice girl, Ty Lee, but a bit deluded. "Doesn't it bother you, though?"

"What?"

"That your friend is trying to kill your friends?" Sokka asked. A calculated move.

"What do you mean?"

"We're your friends, aren't we?" Sokka asked.

"Well..."

"And she's not pulling her punches. She could seriously maim one of us. Does that seem right to you?" Sokka pressed.

"But..."

"So you're just going to let her kill your friends?" Sokka asked. "What sort of friend does that make you?"

"Stop that!" she said. "I don't know. Stop confusing me!"

She kept riding, but in silence. He'd said what he needed to. Now he just had to wait for an opening. She seemed lost in her thoughts, but since he could barely feel anything, he would need to wait. She was a pretty girl, he realized. Her revealing, damp pink clothing left little for the imagination, and her fit body positively glistened in the wet weather. At least, he thought, if he were going to his death, he went there with a stunning view.

* * *

"I can't believe you just abandoned him," Katara said at Aang's back. She was holding that glowing water over her ears; when the lightning bolt missed her, it still injured her hearing. "He would never have abandoned you!"

"I know!" Aang said. "And I wish I had a choice. But she isn't going to stop until I'm dead. She's not Zuko. She's not even trying to capture me."

"We need to get Sokka," Katara said. "Who knows what they're doing to him?"

"I know," Aang said sadly. Every second that he didn't turn around and hunt them down felt like a thousand stabbing knives of betrayal, each plunging into Aang's heart. But, like Sokka would have said, he had to be practical. She was stronger than Aang could believe. He wondered if she was just playing with him at Omashu. What she did here, at night when, if his experience was any indicator, firebending was weaker, blew away anything Aang had ever seen. He didn't even know Firebenders could bend lightning. It seemed like a scene from a nightmare. What was he going to do? He glanced ahead, where the trees opened up and the roads all met at a huge, vacant intersection. He looked back, where Sokka was at the mercy of this 'Azula'. He reached back and grabbed his staff.

"Katara, I want you to go back," he said.

"What? Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked.

"They're following me, and Azula told me how without even realizing it," Aang snapped open his staff. "They're using a shirshu to track me, like Zuko did for you. But this time, I choose where we fight," Aang pointed at the place where the roads met. Katara nodded. "Find your brother. I'll be there."

And with that, Aang leapt off of his bison and soared on his glider, over the thinning copse to the beaten paths and loose cobbles of the roads. There, in the crossroads, he sat on the earth, and waited. The rain slowed, and finally stopped, and a warm breeze touched his back. The evening was here, but it would not find him tired. He was sick of running. No more.

* * *

"There," Mai said, pointing into the sky. Ty Lee and Azula both looked up, but neither could see what Mai was talking about. "That's the Bison."

"It might be, but the trail leads this way," Jun said without turning. Azula smirked, turning back to the girls.

"So, the Avatar thinks that he can lead us into some sort of a trap, does he?" she let out a laugh. "Well, we'll just have to show him what the daughters of Fire are capable of. Ty Lee, Mai, deal with the waterbender on the bison. I'll deal with the Avatar myself."

"Whatever," Mai said. Ty Lee didn't say anything as she moved to follow Mai. The things Sokka had said were swirling through her head. Azula was her friend, but she always wanted Ty Lee to do these things that she didn't want to do. But Sokka had abandoned her. But he had a good reason. But Azula paid attention to her, knew her when nobody else even bothered. The problem just kept spinning around and around in her mind.

Ty Lee followed as Mai led, and Ty Lee's attention only returned to the fracas when she heard the crashing of a ten tonne magical bison smashing its way through the wet foliage. She was landing. And when Mai and Ty Lee cleared the woods, she saw why the girl had landed here. There was a river flowing past. The mongoose dragons ran over the surface of the water as quickly and ably as you please, but Ty Lee knew that it was going to be a hard fight on the other side.

She jumped off of her mount and surged at Katara. She felt justified. Katara wasn't nice to her. Katara didn't ignore her this time, though. She dodged and fled with wild abandon, desperately trying to keep away from Ty Lee's hands and feet. She must have learned her lesson, then. Knives flashed in the air, pinning one of Katara's boots to the wet ground. Ty Lee smiled, going in for the knockout, but as she did, Katara pulled up a wall of ice, and Ty Lee punched that instead. It hurt like anything. "Nice try," Katara said, amused. She then stepped back, pulling the knife right out of the ground. There was little purchase in saturated mud. This was Katara's battlefield, not theirs.

As Ty Lee was shaking the pain out of her fist, Katara made a grandiose gesture. Ty Lee made to move forward again, but Mai put her hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. She pointed up. A huge blob of water, as though she'd taken the entire flow of the river and bent it, hung over their heads. Mai looked at Katara. She had a particularly angry look on her face. It was an expression that practically screamed 'give me a reason'.

Mai sighed. "Just take your brother," she said, tucking her knives away and opening up an umbrella. Ty Lee was quite surprised to have a pair of arms wrap around her belly from behind. Sokka's head appeared at her shoulder.

"I have to say, I've had a lovely ride, but I won't be joining you any longer," he said.

"But I paralyzed you!" Ty Lee said.

"And you you were too distracted to keep it up," he said. He kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for the wonderful view, by the way. You should get wet more often."

"Sokka," Katara said, her complexion darkening. "Tell me you're not propositioning the enemy?"

"Maybe a little," Sokka said, as he walked away. They both got onto Appa's back. Before they took off, though, Sokka looked at her. "See you later, lovely lady!"

"Bye Sokka!" She said, waving enthusiastically. When he flew away, she sighed a bit.

Mai shook her head and walked back toward her mongoose dragon, pausing only long enough to say: "Ty Lee, there is something seriously wrong with you."

* * *

Even though the warm wind was beginning to blow, the ground was still wet, and the skies were still quite dark. Aang waited. He waited as the grey murk parted, and the figures began to approach from the south. His eyes spotted Jun, the bounty hunter immediately. Her shirshu was hard to mistake for just about anything on the Earth. With her was the firebender, Azula. But the other two weren't following. Good. Aang doubted that she would drape Sokka over her own saddle.

The two came to the edge of the copse, staring at him, and beyond him, to the place where three roads met. The intersection was more like a plaza, a wide open space, paved long ago, but long fallen into disrepair. There was nothing for her to burn here except for a few abandoned buildings well away from him. Jun turned to Azula.

"Well, that's it for me. I'm outta here," she said.

"What? How dare you? You said..." Azula snapped.

"Hey, two for one is the best deal you're getting out of me, Princess," she said. With that, she and her shirshu began to amble away. Azula looked furious, then she breathed a few times, and turned to Aang. Her features were composed almost to an expressionless mask.

"Who are you?" Aang asked.

"I'm surprised you haven't already figured it out," Azula said. "I guess Ty Lee was right, and all of your thinking does come from 'Sokka'. How I pity your little group if _he's_ the brains of your operation."

"Tell me, please," Aang said, quietly.

"Such manners. I hardly expected them of you," she said. She jumped off of her mount, and walked toward him, igniting a blue fire in her hand. It danced in golden eyes. "Do you see the family resemblance, maybe? Not enough, then? How about this?" she occluded her left eye and took on a husky tone: "I must find the Avatar and regain my honor!"

"Sister," Aang said. "So you're the sister he talked about."

"Zuzu talked about me?" Aang chuckled. "I'm surprised. I suppose he had nothing but slander and venom for me?"

"No," Aang said, getting to his feet. "He envied you. So much that it hurt him to think about it."

"Fitting. I am enviable," Azula said. A smirk appeared on her face, and then, there was fire. A sweeping kick flashed the water on the ground into steam as it rolled toward Aang. He leapt over it, but she followed it up with a barrage of short, blue-hot bursts of fire. Aang dodged them all, but he knew she was playing with him. She had so much more in her arsenal. He landed, cutting a blade of air at her. She twisted, and thrust forward both hands at once, and from her fingertips, a column of blue flame seared right through it. Aang pulled at the steam in the air, forcing it to be liquid, and ramming it forward through the center of Azula's fire. The water burst into steam, but cut out the column from the inside.

"Why are you doing this?" Aang asked.

"Why do any of us do anything? Prestige, glory, the adoration of my people," she said. Aang didn't let her finish, this time, spinning a whirlwind and unleashing it toward her. She bolted, letting it just roar by her. She was a nimble one. She moved like an airbender. "Oh, now that's just rude. You didn't even let me finish."

"Neither did you," Aang said.

"You think you're the most powerful thing in the world, don't you?" Azula asked, her voice sing-song.

"It depends on what you mean by powerful."

"I know. So seldom do I come across people who understand that distinction," Azula said, examining her nails. She smirked, and Aang readied himself for her next trick. Instead, she kept talking. "You, Air Nomad, think power is something that you gain. You think Ozai is powerful, because he is the Fire Lord. Father was not the Fire Lord from birth, Avatar. He earned it. That is not power. No, power is what we are. You are powerful because you were born the Avatar. And I am _more_ powerful, because I was born to kill it."

Aang stared at her. She truly was crazy. Azula's smirk went away, and she flipped through the air, a huge plume of fire growing on her heel. She smashed it down toward the earth and it seared toward him like some hellish curtain. Aang dodged out of its path easily enough, but then Azula made a wheeling motion, and the entire wall of fire began to roll toward him, mounting and growing higher. Curling in at the edges. She was trying to close him in. He smashed at the edge of the blue fire with a ball of air, and vaulted through before it closed. Azula just smiled, that dark, dangerous smile.

"I suppose it was too much to think that a few tricks would kill you," she said, her tones as dangerous as everything else about her. They suddenly became sing-song again. "Ah, well. I had hoped that this would be an epic engagement, but I have a lot to do, and I can't waste all my time killing you. You're mine, Avatar."

Whatever Azula was about to do next was interrupted as a figure in greens and browns came streaking into the clearing, leaping off of a mongoose dragon and tackling Azula. She bent a blast of blue fire. The newcomer bent red. The explosion threw the stranger away, forming a loose triangle.

"_No, he isn't_," Zuko said. Aang goggled. Zuko was here? He looked different. His hair was longer, his beard less ratty. And he had a different look in his eye. Hunger. "_I've searched for him for years. You're not just going to walk in and take him from me._"

"Oh, Zuzu, are you really going to fight me, for the Avatar?" she asked.

"Zuzu?" Aang laughed.

Zuko's cheek twitched, but he just pointed one hand at each of his sister and the Avatar. "_You're damned right I am._"

A standoff. The Avatar looked between brother and sister. Zuko looked between sibling and prize. Azula looked between failure and target. It was her smirk that gave her away, and even Zuko saw it. She lashed out at her brother, blue flames searing across the open distance. Aang ran forward, ignoring Zuko for a moment, to add his own fire to the mix, red against blue. It wouldn't win for power, but surprise?

His attacks seared toward Azula, but she smashed them down with her own, sweeping attacks. She was much better at this than Aang was, but she was the Princess of the Fire Nation. That was sort of to be expected. What surprised Aang was that Zuko, despite being obviously overpowered, was holding his own. Zuko was using forms that Aang never saw another firebender use. Some of them almost looked like waterbending styles. Azula must have been as surprised as Aang, because she stopped trying to kill the Avatar, and just tried battering her way through Zuko's defense.

Defensive firebending? Was that even possible? Aang had to dodge wildly to avoid a red blast of fire. Zuko was still attacking him? He uppercutted the prince with a fist of air, and then had to dive as Azula instantly turned her attention back to him. He summoned a blob of water from the ground and smashed it into Azula, knocking her to Zuko's side. The two siblings shook the stars out of their respective heads, saw each other, then immediately tried killing each other. What an odd family? Aang considered just flying away, but Azula glanced at him, and she kicked a scythe of fire over him. It hung in the air before slowly fading red, then away. It was a warning. No running. Zuko took advantage of her distraction, actually hitting his sister in the gut with a knee. She responded with a bestial roar, and spun around Zuko. A loud bang sounded, with a flash of light, and Zuko was flying away, rolling to a stop near Aang. Azula was smiling, if unsteadily. "_I must say, Zuzu, you've come a long way. You're not the same helpless idiot I set on fire all those times. Pity, this time Mother's not going to be here to put you out!"_

She pulled her arms through the air again, and this time, that blue lightning gathered. There was no wall of ice to protect him. She was too far away for a blade of air to knock it aside. She surged forward, two fingers leading. A surge of blue light leapt from her and reached toward Aang. And then, there was a man in a brown hanbok reaching in front of Aang. Two of his fingers touched the surging lightning, and they stopped well short of reaching Aang. Aang looked up as the man rose his hand to the sky, and the lightning lanced straight into the heavens. Aang couldn't have been more surprised. It was General Iroh.

"Well. The traitor finally reveals himself," Azula said, still in her stance for... lightningbending? Really?

"I betray nothing, daughter of my brother," Iroh said. "Ever since I returned from Ba Singh Se, I have always fought for what _I_ believe in, and nothing else."

"Well, then you'll die, fighting alone, you insane old bastard," she shouted. She stomped forward, a huge blast of fire moving toward the general. Aang moved forward to block it, but even as he moved past Iroh, the earth itself rose up to stop the attack.

"I wondered when I'd see you again," Toph's voice came behind them. "Heh. 'See'."

"You little peasant. Must all of the inconveniences of my life assault me at once?" Azula shouted. "I thought you'd had enough last time."

Aang looked at Toph. She looked different, now. Her hair, once dangling in front of her face, was now pulled back. A jewel rested in the center of her forehead. She was a lot more pale than she used to be, and now, reddened bandages covered her arms from fingernails to elbows. Those were burns, or Aang was an earthbender.

"What, you've never had somebody challenge you to a rematch before?" Toph asked. Her voice was unsteady. Like she wasn't sure of herself anymore. Azula smirked.

"Where I come from, little girl, if you fail in a duel, you die," Azula grinned. "Thank you for allowing me to remedy my last mistake."

Aang watched as Toph began to earthbend. It wasn't the same minutia of surgical force that he'd seen before. With her arms so badly burned, she probably wasn't capable of that, at the moment. Instead, she just used brute force, and a lot of it. Every stomp she took was an earthquake, which sent General Iroh and Zuko sprawling to the ground. Pillars shot up, trying to smash and crush the Princess. But Azula was fast. Mobile. She bounded along the weapons being used against her, and blasted a ball of fire at the blind earthbender. Aang snuffed it with a great ball of air.

"Not much of a rematch," Azula said. "You're doing just about as poorly as last time."

"Big words from such a little head," Toph shouted. But she was sweating. Nervous. She continued to stomp, earthbending with her feet alone, and the land answered her. What was once an empty expanse, now seemed like some sort of abandoned city, its buildings crumbling and leaning. Even without finesse, Toph was a marvel of raw power. But Azula was getting far too close.

"Stand back. We'll hold her off," Iroh said.

"Somebody grew a sense of entitlement," Azula called from the stone. She surged forward, blue flame leaking from her heels. Suddenly, though, she stopped, her eyes looking up. Her hands snapped up, and a blast of fire raced from her joined fingertips, surging into the sky. Just in time to intercept the block of ice which could have crushed a large house. It exploded into steam, and Appa's groaning filled the air. She scowled, then turned, and had to duck as Sokka's club almost brained her. She backpeddled, her back against the wall, as everybody closed in on her. She looked between everybody, then sighed, raising her hands. "Very well. A princess always surrenders with dignity."

There was a drawn out silence. "Since when do you ever surrender?" Zuko asked. She smirked, and her fingers stabbed out again, and a blast of fire raced into Iroh. He let out a horrible scream as he spun away, but it wasn't nearly so horrible as the scream Zuko let out when he saw what had happened. There was a moment of horrible silence.

"You _bitch_! You killed the cool old guy!" Toph yelled. Then, a crackling of electricity. Every bender worth his or her bending turned and hurled whatever they could at her, to stop her from striking them down with lightning. But she wasn't using it on them. She hurled it at the wall behind her, making it explode into dust and debris. By the time all of their attacks landed, there was nothing to hit.

* * *

Katara turned immediately away from Azula and ran to Iroh. She pulled the water out of her waterskin and pressed a hand to his wound, healing even as she stopped moving. He was in horrible shape, on the very cusp of death. She needed to work fast. But for some reason, fast was exactly her speed. Usually, it took her hours to reconstitute damage from burns or cuts. Now, it was healing in seconds. But seconds was all she had, because she felt a brutal kick land in her side, and she was rolling away. Zuko slid next to his uncle, and stared a mad hatred at her.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" He shouted, sounding well over the verge of tears. She rubbed her aching ribs.

"But I can help him," Katara said. "I can heal..."

Zuko threw an arc of fire toward her, just over her head. "_**LEAVE!**_" he roared. She looked at Aang. He stared at Zuko and his fallen uncle. She had done what she could, but would it be enough? She nodded, and they walked toward Appa.

"Fine. Let's just leave the big baby," Sokka said, already on Appa's head. But Aang just looked at Zuko, an impenetrable sadness. He turned to Toph, then.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you," he began, but she cut him off, even as she looked in Iroh's direction.

"Cram it. Listen up, Twinkletoes. I've got an offer for you, take it or leave it," she said. She sounded tough, but she was shivering. "You want me to teach you earthbending? I can do that. But only on two conditions."

"Name them," Aang said.

"First, if we ever come across Crazy again, I get first crack at her," Toph said. There was clear anger in her voice at that. She expected Aang to say something about forgiveness, but he just nodded, his eyes hard.

"Done."

"And second, I need you to teach me how to fight firebenders, without being able to see them."

Aang nodded without hesitation. What had happened to him? He used to be so full of mercy. Then Katara understood. It was the war. He'd missed out on most of it, but it was starting to catch up to even him. Avatar and earthbender climbed up into the saddle. When Katara took Toph's hand, she cried out in pain, but she still hauled her in. She was horribly burned. Katara wasn't sure if Toph would even be able to keep her hands. There wasn't any healing in the world which could deal with this sort of injury.

Or was there? Feeling that extraordinary power flowing through her, she knelt beside the blind earthbender. "This is probably going to feel strange, Toph, but trust me." The earthbender just stared, if she could be said to do that. Katara took the water, and fed it through the bandages, letting it seep into the ruined skin, the baked muscle, the scorched bone. And the power flowed. She felt it start to pull at her, as though part of _her_ was going into the healing. Toph grunted with discomfort, but otherwise was quiet. She rode the waves of power, until suddenly, and abruptly, they were gone. It was like walking along a featureless plain, then suddenly falling off a cliff.

When Katara got her 'bending balance' back in order, she looked at her work. The arms didn't look the same. She carefully unwrapped them, carefully against the light, unwanted whining of Toph. The skin, once blasted through completely, was now bright pink, but it still showed the swirls and stretches of burns. Her fingers twitched, free of their bondage. "They feel all tingly," Toph said, almost perfectly mimicking Sokka's complaint. She replaced the bandage with fresh, keeping the raw skin from touching anything.

Toph pulled back against their supplies in the back of the saddle. Her eyes were staring down and away from anyone. Katara stared up as some light hit her in the face. The clouds had started to part a bit, and she could see the moon in the sky, pristine and glowing. Then, she truly understood what Yugoda was talking about. The Blood Moon. The power that only came when the cycle of the moon and the cycle of a woman came into accord. She felt like she could have brought back the dead. Beside her, Toph nestled in, hugging her arms close to her chest.

"Thank you," she whispered.


	7. The Four Elements

**Ihave to say, I'm not too happy how this came out, but it was needed. I don't montage this crap. Besides, there are different personalities teaching different lessons, due to different rules being in effect. **

* * *

Aang looked up at the morning sky. It was clear, blue, and promising. It felt good to not to see clouds, for a change. The storm might as well have been a lifetime ago. Now, it was just the heat and the sun, peering down into the Great Divide. Aang felt a chuckle as he stared. He knew he'd end up here eventually, even if they did bypass it last time. Of course, there was no better place to learn earthbending outside of the Pillars of Heaven, and that was almost a continent away.

Aang couldn't resist his exuberance. A week ago, he had been in despair. His earthbending master rejected him, his enemies were overpowering him, and he felt lost. Now, he had purpose. He popped up off of Appa's leg and let out a whoop. It was answered by an angry growl from the ground. Aang looked down. Sokka flopped in his bedding.

"Oh, sorry. You're still asleep aren't you?" Aang asked. Sokka harrumphed. Toph, though, must not have overheard, because she came stomping into the campsite, picking her teeth with a stick.

"Well, that was refreshing. Nothing like hitting the head first thing in the morning, eh Twinkletoes?" she asked. Sokka muttered angrily in his sleeping bag. Toph got a grin on her face. "Aaaah, did we wake the snoozy-Sokka?"

She stomped her foot, and a jolt hurled Sokka's sleeping bag into the air. When it landed, he crawled out, shouting something that consisted of a hodge-podge of angry syllables, full of fire and rage, but signifying nothing. He grabbed his sleeping bag and wandered some place safer than here.

"Ready for my first earthbending lesson, sifu-Toph?" Aang asked. Katara rubbed her eyes.

"Wait a moment. Why don't you ever call me sifu-Katara?" she asked.

"Should I?"

"Quit your yammering," Toph said. "And stay out of this, Sugarqueen. Aang and I have an agreement. Earthbending, in exchange for defense against firebenders."

"Sugarqueen?" Katara asked.

"Well, the day is young, and I'm impatient," Toph said. She really did seem to be getting back to normal. If how she was acting when she cleared her house of attacking earthbenders was any indication of Toph's idea of normal. In short order, she had him marched out to a nice, desolate place and had him planted in place. "Alright. First thing you need to know about earthbending is the stance. Earthbending depends on a solid stance, deep and low. You're fighting with a resilient, stubborn element, and you need to be just as stubborn as it is to win. Take a horse stance!"

Aang nodded, and got into a low stance. She looked at him, walking a circle around him, then checked hard into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He stared at her, baffled. "What was that for?"

"You weren't being rock like!" she shouted. "If I can push you over with a shoulder check, how are you going to stop something like this?"

Shes stomped, and a scree of large stones came bounding down the cliffs. Aang's eyes widened, and he quickly smashed them with a blade of air before they got close. Toph tweezed her brow. "No no no no no!" she shouted. "You're not thinking like an earthbender!"

Aang frowned. "But I can't earthbend yet."

"And you won't, unless you stop being such an airbender about it," Toph shook her head. "Look, I know that there's a lot of talk about chi and energy flowing that you get in your other bending styles. Well, that's a load of bunkus. With earthbending, what you're doing is getting the rock to do what it wants to do naturally, but in a way which does what you want it to. There's no fancy-pants energy involved. Just strength and cunning," she walked to Aang and began to prod at him. "You don't have that strength, Twinkletoes. You're content being weak."

"I am not!" Aang complained.

"Toph, could we have a word?" Katara said. Toph rolled her eyes.

"What is it, Sugarqueen?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"When it comes to teaching Aang, I've discovered that positive reinforcement is usually the way to go," Katara said quietly. Not quietly enough for Aang to miss it, though. "Praise when he does something right, and a little constructive criticism when he does something wrong."

"Why thank you, Katara. That sounds like a good idea," Toph said. But when she turned back, she had that smirk on her face. She stopped in front of Aang. "Why aren't you in your horse stance?" Aang dropped into stance. "LOWER!" he went lower. "You ever wonder why earthbenders tend to be so burly? It's because earthbending requires strength. And it's not always strength here or here," she said, idly slapping his shoulders and thighs with bandaged hands. "It's not even necessarily here," she said, jabbing a finger into his gut, and knocking him a step back. She got a sour look on her face, and he got back into his stance.

"The strength you need to be an earthbender is in here," she said, rapping on his head with her knuckles. "So if you're going to be an earthbender, you've got to work on your strength. Come on, you're my age! Boys are supposed to be growing by then."

"I'm growing just fine," Aang complained.

"Strength, and bending," she said. She faced a rock roughly the same size as her. A stomp and a thrust of the elbow, and the rock went speeding away. "That is your first task as an earthbender. Move a rock."

"Really? That's easy!" Aang said. He moved to a rock slightly larger than hers. He steadied himself, then did the same thrusting motion. Air blasted into the rock, sending _him_ sliding away, but the rock, motionless. Toph tweezed her brow. From Sokka's place above, Aang heard him laugh.

"Hah! Rock beats airbender."

"Ugh. Again," Toph said.

* * *

Iroh dreamed. He dreamed of green eyes, and gold. He dreamed of lost loves. He would have floated in it longer, but he had a feeling like this, like so many things, was a gift he would only experience briefly. So he said goodbye in his dreams to the women that he had loved, each with their own dark, shameful secret. He opened his eyes, feeling that pain wash over him. He had been sure that it had been his time to pass over into the Spirit World. He knew of none who could take a hit as he did from Azula and not.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted, a note of joyous relief in his voice.

"I yet live," Iroh confirmed. He rubbed at the bandages which covered his chest. "Although at the moment, I regret that fact."

"You were unconscious," Zuko said, pouring a cup of tea for Iroh. Iroh took it gratefully. "Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack."

"Considering it came from Azula, it wasn't that surprising," Iroh said. He took a drink of the tea, and found it to be the most horrendous swill he'd ever tasted. He forced a smile onto his face. "Thank you for the tea, Nephew; it was very... bracing."

"I hope I made it the way you like it," Zuko said, pouring himself a cup. Iroh took advantage of his distraction to throw the rest of the vile concoction out the window behind him. "I've been thinking. It's just a matter of time until we run into Azula again. And I need to be able to beat her next time. I can't win unless I know some of the more advanced forms," Iroh began to speak, but Zuko cut him off. "And I know what you're about to say. We're brother and sister, and we should love and protect each other, not fight."

"No, I was about to say that the bitch is crazy and she needs to go down," Iroh countered. "But there is a reason she is the way she is. Never forget that she was not born alone. She was not raised in a vacuum. She is the result of years of education, and conditioning. This is true both of her firebending, and her personality," Iroh forced himself to his feet, despite the dull ache in his chest. "You are right, Nephew. It is time to resume your training."

Iroh had Zuko follow him out of the way-house where Zuko had dragged him after the fight. The land still showed the scars of the battle with Azula; no longer was this a contiguous plaza where three roads met. Now, it was almost like a tiny canyon. Iroh took a stick and began to draw in the dirt. "Fire is the element of advancement, of consumption and alteration," he said. "It's people are passionate and innovative, they have the will and drive to excel. Earth is the element of solidity, of resilience and immortality. Its people are diverse and enduring, able to withstand anything and return from the brink. Air is the element of freedom," he drew the symbols for the nations as he spoke, each arranged two by two. "The Air Nomads divorced themselves from worldly hungers and drives, and sought to gain enlightenment. I hear they also had wonderful senses of humor!" he grinned at Zuko. Zuko just stared back. "Water is the element of change. Its people can adapt to anything. Where we change the world to suit our needs, they change their needs to suit the world."

Zuko frowned, taking a seat on a slanting rock. "Why are you telling me these things?"

He drew lines separating the four symbols. "Ozai, and other firebenders like him, believe that fire is the superior element. That it is above and separate from all of the others. But he is wrong. There is no strongest element, nor weakest. You must gain wisdom by understanding how all of the different elements works, not just your own. There is a purity in fire, but fire alone is difficult to control, and often dangerous for everyone it comes into contract with. But what happens when you mix the power of fire with the stability and endurance of earth?"

"What are you talking about? Only the Avatar can learn multiple elements," Zuko said.

"Maybe in this lifetime," Iroh muttered. "It is not bending different elements. It is using knowledge of one element to bend another. Observe."

Iroh moved to another, free standing rock. He took a deep stance, and thrust his hand at it with an open palm. A loud blast sounded, and the rock flew away, cracking apart in mid air. Zuko leapt to his feet. "Uncle! That was earthbending! How is that possible?"

"Not earthbending, Nephew," Iroh said. "Just creative firebending. I used fire to create percussion, and it did the work for me. Azula knows this form; how she learned it is of concern to me."

Zuko pondered a moment. "What about lightning?"

"That is a pure expression of firebending. Sometimes, I wonder if it can even be considered firebending at all. But if you would learn, learn _all_ I have to teach you. Low stance. Now, channel your chi not as a blade, nor as a filament, but as an orb, moving just past the edge of your hands."

Zuko took the stance, and thrust forward with a hand. Nothing happened. He seethed a moment, then tried again. This time, a loud bang sounded, and a rush of air pushed away. "I did it!"

"That was an annoyed moth compared to the enraged moose-lion of true percussion blasting," Iroh said. "You will need to practice it. Especially if you ever want to face your sister again.

* * *

You are weak.

Azula ignored the figment as it came to her. She had to. They were lies. Lies and attacks which would be either destroyed or ignored as they came. Father had told her that it was the price of her magnificence. She brushed her hair, but found it was fighting against her. Aggravating. The fight hadn't gone as she'd hoped. Too much interference. Too many extraneous variables which needed to be eliminated, or otherwise accounted for. She hadn't expected the Avatar to have such a complete assortment of friends and allies. Enemies and traitors, all working together to stymie her. She looked into her mirror, trying to get her bangs to hang correctly. Over her shoulder, she saw Ursa watching.

"Come to gloat, Mother?" she asked. Those gold eyes just stared at her. "Oh, I know how much you love to see the _monster_ you bore suffer. Father was right about you. You are a hate filled shrew, and he was far happier after you left."

Ursa hung her head, shoulders slumped. "What? Aren't you going to chastise me for being cruel to my brother? For trying to kill my uncle? Or have I fallen so far in your eyes that I cannot even be spoken to? Is that how you see me, Mother? Am I no better than an _animal_ to you? One of your precious little turtle-ducks, to be looked at and toyed with, but Agni forbid spoken to? I don't care what you think. I don't care what _anyone thinks!_"

"Um, Azula?" Ty Lee's voice came. Azula turned around. Ursa was gone, but the circus freak stood in her place. She was drawn in on herself, like she was trying to hide without moving.

"What is it, Ty Lee?" Azula asked.

"Mai can't find any sign of the Avatar," she said. "And she doesn't know which direction your brother went after the fight. Where are we going to go?"

Azula turned, quickly folding the mirror along its hinge. A thought occurred to her. "I think it is time we paid a visit to War Minister Qin."

"But he's on the other side of Full Moon Bay," Ty Lee said.

"I know. It will be a long trip, but I know the path well," she said. She stared at the acrobat. "You didn't come here to ask about our itinerary, did you?"

"Well, the circus is heading through Si Wong, isn't it?" Ty Lee asked. "I was wondering if I could... you know... visit them?"

Azula sighed, and waved a dismissive hand. "I don't see why you couldn't. Even if Qin is wildly ahead of schedule, it will be months before he's finished. And besides, you are the fastest one of our little group. You need about as much sleep as a mongoose dragon."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Ty Lee said, wrapping Azula in a big hug. Azula went tense until the acrobat bounded away, a big grin on her face. Azula shook her head. There were bigger things to deal with than a few performers, but if it kept her resident Dim Mak expert happy, then it could be afforded by the plan.

* * *

Aang torqued through his stance again, and this time, when he thrust, the stone moved about half a cun. He exulted, but instantly, Toph was there, shaking her head. "That was airbending, Twinkletoes," she said.

"Nuh-uh. I earthbent it!"

"Really? Do it again," Toph said. He tried. It didn't budge.

"I've been trying to move this stupid rock for two days!" Aang said. "Maybe it's rooted in place," he pondered, walking around the rock. Toph just shook her head slowly. "I know. I just need to come at this from another angle."

"NO!" Toph shouted, her forehead in one bandaged palm. "There are no other angles, there are no tricks, no other solutions. There is just one, and you're not doing it right."

"There's always other solutions."

"That's airbender thinking," Toph shouted. "You always lead with air, don't you? Every time I 'see' you get into a fight it's 'oh, an enemy. Airbending! That didn't work? Try something else'. You never once default to an element other than your own. You're so beholden to your native element that you refuse to see the lesson that I have for you. You can't trick the rock to do what you want it to. You have to attack it head on. Like so."

Toph walked over to the rock, and smashed her head into it. It crumbled into pebbles and dust. She rounded on Aang. "That's your problem. You don't see the obvious solution. You always think laterally."

"What's wrong with lateral thinking?" Sokka asked from the fire. She cast out a hand, and a wall of stone interposed between the onlookers and Aang.

"No comments from the peanut gallery," Toph answered. She faced Aang again. "Now you need to stop trying to think of a novel solution and just _move the damned rock!_"

"But I can't!" Aang said, his frustration building. He took his stance again, and this time tried to move even one of the stones her headbutt had created. Nothing happened. "It's like they're just refusing to listen to me."

"That's because you're not being stubborn enough. You're not strong enough to bend earth. You've always been an airbender, and you branched out into other elements, but let's face it; you're no earthbender."

Aang felt the anger begin to surge through him. "Well maybe I'd be learning faster if you had better lessons than 'move the rock', 'carry this enormous stone on your back', and 'be rock like'."

"Are you questioning my methods?" Toph asked.

"I'm questioning if you even _have_ methods!" Aang countered.

"Aang, please, calm down," Katara's voice came from beside Aang. He hadn't even noticed her approach. "Look, maybe we can all just calm down and start again tomorrow. There's plenty of waterbending that he needs to learn before..."

"Fine. Don't let me get in the way of your girly practice," Toph said, wandering off. Aang wondered if she sometimes forgot she was a girl. Aang and Katara moved to a small stream, down from where the camp had been situated. It was a good spot, he pondered. In short order, they were passing the water back and forth between them, a basic but relaxing practice. It showed the way that water can flow not just within itself, but between people.

"You need to calm down around Toph," Katara said. "I don't think she knows how to deal with people."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"A lot of reasons, really," she said. "She led a sheltered life before she decided to embrace complete independence. Before she got hurt, I don't think she ever willingly depended on anybody."

"I guess you're right. I know I'd be a lot happier if I could just figure out why I can't earthbend. Every time I try, I fail," he said, he stopped waterbending, and the blob of water fell back into the stream. "But if I don't try, then I'll never learn. It's infuriating! I don't understand why I can't do it!"

"Aang," Katara said, her tone very soft. "What's the opposite of fire?"

"Water I guess," Aang said.

"And that would make the opposite of air?"

"Earth."

"Of course you're having trouble learning to bend earth," Katara said. "You're dealing with your opposing element. It can't be easy to invert an entire lifetime's experience and bending expertise. But you'll find a way to bridge that gap, Aang. I know you will. I have faith in you."

Aang smiled. She always did have a way of rousing his spirits. "Thank you, sifu-Katara. I think that's just what I needed to hear."

"Now, let's see if I can get you plantbending," Katara said.

* * *

In the camp, Sokka watched as his sister and Aang frolicked in the water. They weren't really frolicking, but it was about as much as he wanted to go into it. Down that path went bending talk, and that seldom settled well with him. Toph came stomping back into the camp, and plunked herself down beside him.

"What'cha cooking?" she asked.

"Canyon crawler maggot," he said. There were a lot of canyon crawlers in the area. Aang would probably have to be on the lookout for them.

"You're eating a fried worm?" Toph asked. She smiled. "Awesome."

"They taste exactly how they look," Sokka warned. Then he looked over at those milky green eyes. "Oh, right. Sorry."

There was a very long moment of silence as the sounds of waterbender and Avatar wafted up toward the camp. Toph picked at her toes with a stick, then sat back, leaning against a rock she pulled up, a smirk on her face. She turned toward him.

"So," she said. "Wanna make out?"

Sokka stopped, turning slowly toward her. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, turning away. Oh, this was going to be a _wonderful_ trip.

* * *

Zuko surged forward again, his stance low and stable, and bend the fire. A loud blast sounded from his hand, and the rock wall crumbled. Iroh nodded, smiling. "Very good. You have mastered the art of percussion. Now, if you'll just learn the tsungi horn, you can be your own orchestra."

Zuko stared at his uncle. "I've done as you asked. Now, what about lightning?"

Iroh nodded, moving to face the most open part of the road. "Lightning is called the cold-blooded fire. It is not fueled by rage or hatred the way other firebending is said to be. Instead, it is precise, efficient, and deadly, much like Azula. And to create it, you must be able to harness not just the energies within yourself, but the emotions as well."

"Is that why you keep drinking tea all the time, to calm your mind?" Zuko asked.

"Sure, why not?" He said. "Lightning is not something you bend, but rather, a result of bending the energy within yourself. All energy has two parts. A yin and yang. A positive and a negative. By pulling these energies apart, you create a void, an imbalance which the energy itself seeks to repair. As it comes crashing back together, it is no longer in your control. You may only guide and direct it, as it does what it wishes to do naturally," Iroh said. He began to make the sweeping motions, feeling the energy build up inside him. Blue lightning followed his fingers as he motioned, then, with a snap of his hand, a huge fork of lightning seared down the road. Iroh looked at Zuko. He was quite impressed. "Now, you try it."

Zuko stood beside Iroh, and began to go through the movements. Iroh immediately saw that there was something wrong. The lightning wasn't following his fingers. It wasn't there at all. He thrust out his hand, and a percussion threw him onto his back, leaving nothing but smoke hanging in the air.

"I don't understand," Zuko said. He got up, dusting off his back, and tried again. With the same, explosive, result. As Zuko kept trying, over and over, the only thing that changed was that he was getting angrier and angrier. Finally, as the evening approached, he told his nephew to stop. "Why won't it work? It just keeps blowing up in my face, like everything else in my life!"

"I believe it is because you have not dealt with the pain and turmoil in your life," Iroh said.

"What turmoil?" Zuko roared. Iroh made a placating gesture.

"You are still poisoned by your feelings of shame and worthlessness," Iroh said gently.

"I'm not ashamed. I'm as proud as ever!" Zuko denied.

"Pride is not the opposite of shame. It is its source. You must learn true humility if you will ever understand the highest orders of firebending, and have the inner peace required to create lightning," Zuko didn't say anything, just sitting on the ground looking at the smoke which wafted lazily. Iroh forced a smile onto his face. "Come, have some dinner. There may be something else which I can teach you."

* * *

The blindfold was utterly ridiculous. She looked up at her teacher with what she assumed was an amused expression on her face. "Are we forgetting something, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked. He let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Come on. I can't learn how to beat firebenders unless you get with it!"

"You've been practicing all night, sifu-Toph," he said, pulling the utterly useless blindfold off of her. "I'm tired. You're probably exhausted. We should continue this in the morning."

"No," Toph said. "We had a deal. You learn earthbending, I learn how to fight Princess Bitch and her cronies."

"But I haven't learned any earthbending," Aang said. She could tell he was getting angrier. "You haven't taught me anything."

"That's because you're too dumb to grasp the simple tasks I'm giving you," Toph shouted back. She wasn't even sure why she kept egging him on. He was a nice enough guy.

"Ugh! I've had it. I'm going to sleep," Aang said, stomping away. Toph just glared in the direction he had gone. Damn him, he was supposed to be some sort of mythic legend-in-the-flesh. Instead, he was just an angry teenager. Of course, much the same could be said about her. She wandered back to the fire, where Sokka was cooking something else. The moment he saw her, he moved to the opposite side of the fire. Heh. She spooked him good.

"Toph, can I talk to you for a second?" Katara asked. Toph shrugged.

"Could I possibly stop you?" she asked.

"Aang is angry. You should lighten up on him. He's never had it this hard learning an element before, and I think it's getting to him," she said. Toph frowned. There was something going on under her voice. Something she didn't want to say out in the open.

"Earthbending ain't easy, Sweetness," Toph said. "I learned it because I had to, and because I had the perfect tutors for somebody like me. He can see. I don't think they'd like him as much."

"Wait, what?"

"Badgermoles, dummy," she said. "They see with earthbending, like I do. That's how I got to be who I am without anybody even realizing it," Toph paused, yawning, and spat into the fire. "So tell me, Sugarqueen. Why do you dislike me so much?"

"I don't dislike you," Katara said. Toph smirked.

"Amongst other things, my earthbending lets me know when people are lying to me. You say the words, but your body tells a different story. So answer the question."

"I just think you're being too hard on Aang," Katara said. Toph rolled her eyes.

"That's just a convenient deflection. Tell the truth, or I'll whup you until you do," she said idly.

"Why is he so obsessed with you?" Katara asked. "He's always watching you, he went out of his way to recruit you. I mean, it's almost as though I'm only here because I was the first person to see him conscious. Everything is about the earthbending master."

"Are you jealous?" Toph asked, incredulous. "Please. Like I would want to have anything to do with him. He's flighty, impatient, and so optimistic it makes my teeth hurt."

"You think he's optimistic now?" Sokka muttered. "You should have seen him a year ago."

"Exactly," Toph said. "Besides, it's not like I ever gave him any encouragement. As far as I can tell, he's got no idea you want to see how far those arrows go."

"I don't want to see where..." she stammered. But then she stopped, her heart pounding. Toph chuckled, and Sokka burst out laughing.

"Oh, she got you with that one," Sokka mentioned.

"Kid's oblivious," Toph said. "That's his big problem in life, love, and earthbending. He just needs to open his eyes for once."

"Sometimes, it actually sounds like you know what you're talking about," Sokka said. Katara said something angry at him in Yqanuac, and she turned. Aang was a decent guy, but not what she had in mind by a long shot. Katara moved to her. "Sorry," she said. "If I made you uncomfortable, I mean."

"If you wanted me to be uncomfortable, you'd have put me on a boat," she said. "A metal one. Then, I'd be uncomfortable."

* * *

Iroh sat in front of the symbols he'd drawn. With the rain finally gone for good, and the ground drying out, it held them still. He drank some tea and held a stick across his knees. "Prince Zuko, there is much that can be learned by drawing wisdom from many sources. By doing so, you bring harmony not just to your element, but to yourself. And from that harmony comes great inner strength, the kind which can sustain you no matter how the world tests you."

Iroh drew a circle around the elements. "While the Avatar embodies all of the elements in one person, each person has all of the elements inside themselves. Earth that gives us substance. Water that lets us grow. Fire that gives us drive. Air that gives us hope. Knowing how these interact is the key to achieving the greatness of the grandmasters of the firebending arts."

"That's all well and good, but how does that help me?" Zuko asked. "I can't make lightning without screwing it up. Azula would just destroy me."

"Not so. I'm going to teach you a move that I guarantee Azula doesn't know about, because I made it up myself," he said. He stood. "I created it by observing waterbenders at the North Pole, many years ago. As firebending is dependent on the flow of chi through your body, you can use your body to redirect the lightning that another sends. Stand. You must feel the chi making a path through your body, beginning at your fingertips, where you collect the incoming energy. It must travel up your arm, then down, into your stomach. The stomach is the source of all of your energy, and it is called the pool of chi. Although, in my case, it is a vast ocean," Iroh laughed at his own joke for a moment. Zuko just stared. "After that, it must travel back up your other arm, and out your fingers. The detour to your stomach is vital. If the power of the lightning were ever to cross your heart, the damage could be lethal."

Iroh made the motion again. "Please, practice with me. You can use a motion to help you get a feel for the pathway," Zuko nodded, and began to mimic him. "Good. You've got to feel the flow."

"I think I do," Zuko said. He continued to go through the gestures, until he finally stopped, the gibbous moon hanging in the sky. "I think I'm ready to test it. Throw some lightning at me."

"What? Are you crazy? I'm _not_ going to throw lightning at you!" Iroh said.

"But then how will I know if I've got it right?"

"Prince Zuko, if you make a mistake defending against firebending, you get burned. If you make a mistake redirecting lightning, _it will kill you!_ I refuse to place your life so needlessly in danger."

"But..."

"Zuko, I taught you this technique, hoping in my heart that you would never need to use it," Iroh said. "Much the same as when I taught you the basics to such an extent. You questioned my intents, well, I will explain them. You go through basic firebending moves without thought. When a move or motion is needed, it comes to you as a reflex, not as an action. Your mind is freed to do whatever you need to do to survive, and your body gives you the time it needs to think. Modern firebenders tend to think in terms of offense. That's why so many die at the front. They attack and attack, but they cannot see the traps they blunder into. Zuko, I raised you to be a new paradigm of firebenders. The thinking warrior. The grandmaster."

Zuko took a deep breath, then made the channeling motion again. "I think I understand what you mean."

"Good. Now. Your sister's style is called 'firestorm', a mixture of fire's ferocity and air's agility. It teaches precision and accuracy, as well as speed and mobility. It is why Azula is so hard to fight. To learn it, you must learn to limit yourself. To make not a hotter or larger flame, but a smaller and cooler one."

"Why should I learn something that my sister's already better than me at?" Zuko asked.

"Because it will give you insight into her methods," Iroh said. "A small flame, through that window. And do not singe the drapes. They are a lovely shade of purple."

* * *

Toph hit the ground again as fire flared nearby. "Damn it, Aang! I wasn't ready!"

"But you said..." Aang sounded defensive.

"I know what I said, but I'm saying I wasn't ready," she shouted. She furiously turned her back. "I just don't get it. How do you fight firebenders?"

"Well, I see them, and then I..." Aang began.

"Oh, flaunting your eyes again, are we?" Toph said.

"Ugh, I've had enough of this," Aang muttered. "You're just impossible. You never give anything I try to tell you a chance. All you do is complain and quit and insult me. I don't know why I ever believed that you were supposed to be my earthbending master!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I would have been better off if we had never met!" Toph shouted back. She stomped away into the canyon. She expected Twinkletoes to give some sort of apology. He was that sort of person. It almost hurt a little when he remained utterly silent as she walked away. She moved through the Great Divide by feel and stopped after turning behind a great outcropping. She sat down and finally let out the pain that she had felt the entire day from her hands with a low, wheezing cry.

Every second she tried to do something, it felt like she was dipping her hands in molten glass. Bending was agony. Eating was torture. She was furious that she was weeping, even as she tried to just take the pain. There was just too much of it. She knew why she was failing as a teacher. She couldn't concentrate. On anything. And she couldn't learn for the same reason. The reasonable part of her wanted to march right back there and admit that, to get some help, but if she did that, then she'd just be proving everybody right about her. Weak, tiny, and helpless little Toph Beifong.

She was brought out of her misery when she felt something moving. She leaned down, trying to press a hand to the ground for reference, but when she did, the stab of pain brought a bit more tears to her eyes. She waved it away. Something was coming. No, multiple somethings. A lot of multiple somethings.

She hopped to her feet, trying to gauge where they were coming from. Too many feet, from too many directions. She lashed out, sending a boulder at one. She regretted it when her hands met the rock. She let out a clipped yell, and fell back to the basics. Foot-bending. Stomps raised walls, which battered the things coming toward her, but it wasn't enough. She could tell that from their numbers. Too many. Just too many. And she knew, in her heart, that she wasn't a good enough earthbender to stop them.

"Damn it all, Sokka," Toph shouted. "Why did you have to eat the giant worms?"

* * *

Katara looked up as Aang stomped his way into the camp. She frowned at him. "What's wrong, Aang? Where's Toph?"

"She left," Aang said, unable to keep the frustration from his voice. "Apparently she's just as good a student as she is a teacher."

"Oh, Aang, you've got to give her some time. She's never had to depend on people before. She's not used to dealing with people, especially people who don't agree with her."

"She's just impossible," Aang said. He stared at the fire. He glanced around. "We should just leave. I don't think she's going to come with us."

"Aang, you don't mean that. You're just having a hard time with the earthbending, compared to everything else that you've learned. You have to be patient..."

"I have been patient!" Aang shouted. "If I had hair, I would have pulled it out by now!"

"Aang!" Sokka shouted.

"WHAT?" the Avatar shouted back.

"Something's wrong. There's a lot of movement out there," Sokka said. "I think the Canyon Crawlers are on the move."

Aang stared at the direction that Toph had gone, then at Appa. It would have been so easy just to leave. To let this be somebody else's problem. But, with a sigh, he realized that it was never somebody else's problem. He was the Avatar. And more, he was trying to be a better man. Nobody else was going to die because of him. He looked at Sokka. "Get Appa loaded. I'm going to get Toph."

Aang snapped open his glider and began to soar through the walls of the canyon, moving toward the movement he saw. There was a lot of it. Dozens upon dozens of the six-legged monstrosities. Canyon Crawlers, each the size of a rhino, bearing down on one spot. The land rebelled, but every time they were thrown away, they popped back up, surging in. Aang saw her in the middle, her back to a wall, trying to hurl the things away. But she was failing. How could she be losing against animals? She struck down a bunch of earthbenders like they were nothing!

Aang landed next to her. She was sweating profusely, and her milky eyes had an especially glazed look about them. Even though she wasn't seeing at the best of times, now, she was probably just exhausted. "Why aren't you whupping these things?" Aang shouted.

"I'm not strong enough," she said, her voice high and breathless. That wasn't right. She wasn't like this. She was arrogant, she was angry. This little girl was afraid. Aang smashed at the things with blades of air, throwing them back one at a time. It wasn't enough. There were too many. He needed to find another solution. Something he hadn't considered before. He looked around. They were surrounded by rock. No water. His fire wasn't hot enough to deal with more than one at at time. He needed another option...

And he finally got it. There was just a moment, as he stared at them cutting through everything he did, where everything came into perfect clarity. It was like achieving enlightenment. She was completely right. He wasn't earthbending because he kept trying to trying to change his method. It never occurred that he would have to just stand his ground and try again. And that is exactly what he did. He stood his ground before Toph, and he just waited. The beasts moved closer. He listened. Their chitinous limbs made a drone as they approached. And, much the way Toph used to, Aang got a smile on his face.

He shifted his foot, and he could really feel what she felt. Every foot that touched the ground. Every Canyon Crawler. Aang let his staff fall to the ground, and he surged forward, both fists leading. A stone wall popped out of the ground, and slammed through the ranks of crawlers surrounding Toph. He turned, and punched upward. The stone above them formed a shelf, and swept away those who descended from above. He was earthbending. He was earthbending! He swept and moved, driving the creatures away. He closed his eyes, feeling the world the way Toph did. Something caught his attention. He spun, knowing that earth would be too slow, air too weak. His hands punched out, and a column of fire streamed forward, directly at Toph.

And Toph reacted. She turned to him, and... felt... the fire. She dropped low, and the column blasted away a Crawler which had almost gotten her in the melee. She looked at Aang, her eyes wide. The closest hissed and popped, dead. The others, overwhelmed, headed back into their holes. The canyon cleared out.

"You earthbent," she said.

"And you felt the fire," Aang said. Toph put on an unsteady smile. She didn't used to be unsteady.

"Yeah. I guess I did," she moved shakily to where she'd dropped her things. She was scared. No doubt about it. Whatever happened that hurt Toph so badly also scared her, right down to the bone. "That means the deal is done. I won't take up space any longer."

"Toph, I want you to come with us," Aang said. She looked at him.

"Why? We get on each other's nerves. Katara keeps trying to be my mother, and I've already got one of those; and I don't think Sokka can stand the unresolved sexual tension between us," she said. Wait. What?

"Because you need to come with us," he said, studiously ignoring her last comment. What he said was true. Her confidence in herself and her bending had been broken. And it was, in a small part, because Aang interfered with her life. The least Aang could do was give it back to her.

"I don't need anything, least of all from you," she said. But her heart wasn't in it. She wanted to be wrong.

"Let me guess. You can take care _of_ yourself, _by_ yourself?" Aang asked. "Then why is it, that every time you go on the road, you're always looking for someone?"

Toph didn't have an answer for that. "I'll be fine on my own."

"And with us, you'll be magnificent," Aang said. He held out his hand. "Come with us. You claimed you're the greatest earthbender in the world. Prove it."

Toph smirked. "Fine, Twinkletoes. I'll show you exactly how awesome I am. And you'll thank me for the privilege."

"It will be my honor, sifu-Toph," Aang said with a grin. She walked by, and slugged him in the arm. As she did that, she let out a hiss and shook her hand in pain.

"Totally worth it."

* * *

Zuko stopped, staring. He knew his target. A board, with a knot-hole no larger than a candle-flame. He took deep, calming breaths, pulling his chi out. Not into a blast, but narrowing it. Paring it down to exactly what he needed, and not one whit more. It was like taking a rope, and unraveling it, right down to its threads. He cast out that filament of chi, and the fire followed it. It was tiny, red. Fast. It flew through the knot-hole without even touching the edges.

"Again, faster," Iroh said. Zuko felt that paring down again. This time, it was easier. Quicker. He threw another tiny flame, and it passed through as accurately as the first. "Again!" Zuko began to throw them like he would a basic blast, tiny, precise, fast. He finally stopped after getting five flames through the hole in the time it took for him to breath in and out once. Iroh smiled. "Very good. Very good. Precision and speed are trademarks of Jeong Jeong's style, and now, your sister's. The same lessons that teach you to attack quickly with small fires can be scaled to attack with larger."

Zuko wiped the sweat from his brow. "Do you think I could take on Azula now?"

"Not a chance," he said. "Not without cheating, but that's a lesson for another day. I think you've learned enough new things for the time being. You need to practice them, until they are as much a part of you as everything else I taught you."

Zuko watched as Iroh picked up his tea set and packed it into his bag. "Where are we going to go now?" Zuko asked.

"For now, to the east," Iroh said. He smiled brightly. "I have a few friends who I would like to reconnect with."

"But what about Azula? What about the Avatar?" he asked.

"I suppose, that is something you are going to have to figure out for yourself, my nephew," Iroh said. To Zuko's ear, his uncle sounded a little sad. "Help me onto Choko, Nephew. The road is long, and I fear it will not be safe. But it will be good to have your company again."

Zuko felt a smile pull on his features. Iroh had it right. It was good to have family. And somewhere out there in the wilderness, Mai was here. In the East Continent, an exile, just like him. In a strange way, home had come to him. There was a strange, unstable peace which settled upon him. He might be a fugitive. He might be an exile. But as long as his uncle, as long as Mai was with him, in body or in spirit, he could live with that. He would live with that.

* * *

**Just to be absolutely clear about this. The moment between Sokka and Toph was something which occured during an RPG session with a few friends a while back. Where I and another, both men playing male characters, were sitting on the sidelines while other players played out a pair of romatic tiffs and disagreements. Then, the exchange occurred exactly as spelled out above, with myself as the confused Sokka.**

**This does not in any way indicate that this will be a Tokka work. Nor will any of the blatant 'hints' which will be showing up in the next few chapters. No matter how seemingly, mind-burningly blatant they are. Seriously. They will be blatant. But not true. Honest. There will be lampshade hanging throughout the rest of this 'book'.**


	8. Silence in the Library

**Yes. I have been watching Doctor Who recently. We're coming up to the biggest diversion from Canon yet, and you'll see it coming when it happens. **

* * *

Sokka munched on fire flakes as he watched the acrobats perform. Toph got a smirk on her face as she moved to one of the stalls, touting a big, fuzzy prize if one could knock over bottles with a ball. "I've gotta say, Aang, you should go on vacation more often," Sokka said. Aang just grinned like he used to, back when things were good, before Sozin's comet. During those heady days where they had nothing to worry about but the angry jerk, freedom to roam the world however they pleased. It seemed an eternity ago.

"Wow," Katara said, looking at the acrobats performing on stage. "Don't they look a bit... familiar to you?"

Sokka looked up. The girls performing on the stage in the center of the town all wore tight, revealing, pink outfits. Almost identical to the one Ty Lee wore when he was 'captured' by her. That was a very pleasant memory for him, for all the wrong reasons. "Yeah. I wonder if she bought her clothes from the same provider?"

"Yeah," Katara shook her head. "Why would an acrobat be with Fire Nation nobility? Oooh. Oh, how can she do that? Doesn't she know spines aren't supposed to bend like that?"

"Booyah!" Toph shouted as she managed to knock down not only her stack of targets, but the ones on the next table as well. "That's two fuzzy things, right now!"

Aang watched as a man stood on stage, performing tricks with fire. Sokka shook his head. "I know this is fun and all, and it's always good to enjoy the view..." Katara's glare made him break away from the acrobats and return his attention to Aang. "But we need to plan something here. You've mastered all of the elements. We could end this war tomorrow, if we knew where to strike. I mean, the Fire Nation is one of the only places that I can't get a good map for, at any price!"

"I wouldn't say I've mastered fire, Sokka," Aang said, watching the man perform. He bent a dragon-like shape out of fire and was circling it around a squeeling girl in the middle of the stage. Impressive effects. "I only know a few things, and the few things I know aren't exactly the most helpful," he shook his head, scratching under the floppy hat which hid his arrows. "I know this might sound crazy, but what I wouldn't give to have somebody like General Iroh to teach me about firebending."

"What could he teach you? He taught Zuko, and we always beat the pants off of him," Sokka commented. "No, what we need is some intelligence on the Fire Nation. And despite this being a Fire Nation colony, nobody seems to be willing to say anything."

"We can get back to looking for your intelligence later, Sokka," Toph laughed loudly at that, and Katara continued. "For now, we should just enjoy the shows."

"Yeah. Between earthbending with Toph and waterbending with you, I've been working my arrow off," Aang said. But he never stopped smiling. Toph eventually came back, holding a gold colored crescent shaped thing with fuzzy balls on it.

"I think I've been swindled," she said. "What is this thing?"

"That holds your hair back," Katara said. Toph scowled. "Not that'd you'd need it with that hairstyle."

Toph groaned. "What a rip off."

The festival came to a close, and people began to file away to wherever it was they lived, the events shutting down for the night. Aang was the first one to leave the city. After the last time they'd stopped in a Fire Nation colony, he was properly cautious. Zhao had nearly destroyed the entire place, trying to get Aang. Come to think of it, that was when the Angry Jerk actually came in handy. They walked back out into the fields, away from the colony, to where Appa was lying half in a stream. It was fitting. Summer had begun, and the big guy probably felt it as much as everybody.

Aang sat on Appa's forepaw, and began to blow a tune on a flute. He paused. "You know, we've all been busy and we've had hard times," he said. "Maybe we should all get a little vacation?"

"That sounds like a great idea, Aang," Katara said brightly. "Where should we go?"

"Well," Sokka said. "I heard there was some sort of ice-fountain about a day to the east."

"Right, the Misty Palms Ice Oasis," Aang said. "It was one of the great marvels of the natural world. Water spraying out of the ground, and freezing in mid air! I was there, a long time ago. It's very refreshing."

"Well, I want to go there. It sounds marvelous," Katara said.

* * *

It was not marvelous. The place looked about as run down as a town could get before becoming a ghost town. Dangerous looking men abounded. Katara subconsciously moved a bit closer to Aang. To protect him? For him to protect her? She couldn't easily say. Aang let out an uneasy laugh. "Well, I guess it's come under new management in the last century."

"Bah, look at this place," Toph said. "It feels all bendy and fuzzy."

"It must be all the sand," Sokka said. The entire town was walled, but great dunes of sand poured through the gates, locking them permanently open. Even now, sand encroached onto every part of the town except for the ice spring itself. And it was much less than she had hoped for. Instead of a towering edifice to remind her of home, there was a lumpy pile of ice roughly up to her shoulder. Toph smacked her lips.

"My mouth tastes like mud. I'm going to get a drink somewhere."

Katara followed the blind earthbender, but her eyes widened when she actually bumped into a man wrapped in strange clothing. He shouted something at her, in a language Katara couldn't understand. Toph shouted something back, and waved her hands in front of her own eyes. The man scowled, and spat in the dirt, but walked away. "What was that about?"

"Ugh, I can't see in this sand," Toph muttered. "Sandbenders. Nomads from Si Wong. Keep an eye on them, or they'll steal the pants right off of your butt." She finally found the building she was looking for, and moved through the cloth 'door'. Inside was a fairly dank public house. There was a smell of alcohol, but the back wall was dominated by racks of fruit.

"Oooh," Sokka said, moving past her. "I wouldn't say no to one of those cold, fruity beverages..."

Toph went to the counter first. "Two crushed ice, one with lime and lemon," she said, laying out a coin. After a few moments, she held a bowl of crushed ice. The other was put on top of it. When Sokka tried to grab the top one, Toph kicked his shin.

"Ow! What was that for? You can't be drinking both!"

"Oh, I have _nooooo_ intention of drinking both," she said, sipping from the top. Katara saw that she was wrapping her bandaged hands around the bottom one. It was probably soothing. Aang went up to get his own, but bumped into somebody turning from the counter, spilling the drink all over his robes. He looked down at himself, then up at the middle-aged man.

"Don't worry, I clean up easy," he said, then bent the juice out of his clothing, then gave himself a blast of airbending to dry off completely. Doing so sent his floppy hat flying. The man's eyes widened.

"My spirits, you're an Air Nomad!" he said, his tone in awe. "You're a living relic!"

Aang laughed. "Thanks, I try."

The man was moving around Aang like a lemur-bat. "An Air Nomad, right in front of me. What a find this is! I'm sorry. Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Singh Se university. Look at these markings. Authentic airbender tattoos. Blue. Mastery, at such a young age. You must have had remarkable teachers."

Aang's tone became distant, nostalgic for a moment. "The very best."

"Tell me, what temple did you hail from? What was their primary agricultural product? Is it true that they derive from every peoples?"

"Um," Aang sounded a bit flustered by the barrage of questions. "South, fruit pies, and yes. They say my mother was Embiar, and my father a Whaleshman."

"They say?"

"Air Nomad children aren't raised by their parents," he said, looking a bit conflicted. "I never figured out why."

"Fascinating! That's one for the journal." Zei said, beginning to jot notes. "Oh, blast. This dry weather has ruined another brush. Ah, well."

Sokka took a look at the brush, and began to walk around, the brush in one hand, his cold drink in the other. Katara turned back to Zei and Aang. Sokka moved closer, twirling the brush. "You seem like a well traveled guy. Would you have a more current map? Ours is a little dated."

"Certainly," Zei said brightly. He had to be the most upbeat adult Katara had ever met. Well, since the Mechanist, anyway. Zei laid out a map on a table. Sokka groaned.

"_No Fire Nation. Doesn't anybody have a map of that place?_" he complained.

"_My studies haven't taken me there since I was your age. Why would I?_" Zei answered, in Sokka's own language. Sokka looked a bit poleaxed. Zei just laughed. "Oh, an Air Nomad and itinerant Tribesmen in the desert, all on the same day. What luck!"

Katara looked at the map. It was most of Si Wong, which was to say, it was still mostly uncharted, but comprised most of the area from the Great Divide to the March of Chin. "You've made a lot of trips into the desert," she said, tracing a finger along his meandering routes.

"Yes, and almost died each time!" he said, full of cheer. She took a step back from him. "I'm looking for the crown jewel of study, the legendary library-temple of Wan Shi Tong. I've discovered lost civilizations all over this continent. I've even been invited into a relic dive off of Grand Ember. But Wan Shi Tong's library has evaded me all these years."

Toph, her feet up on the table, flicking sand onto the map, scowled. "You've spent years wandering through the desert looking for some guy's library?" she asked.

"Yes! It is the foremost repository of knowledge in the world. I have found troves of silver and gold, and this is worth far more. Because knowledge," Zai held up a finger, as though stressing importance, "is priceless."

"Yeah, so's a sunset and a mother's love," Toph muttered, drinking her drink. Sokka got a look in his eye.

"Wait, if this thing has knowledge from all over the world, it probably has information on the Fire Nation, right? Like, maps and stuff?" he asked.

"Almost definitely," Zei said brightly. "If such a thing were to exist, it would be there."

Sokka grinned. "Well, then; Aang, I know where I'm going on my personal vacation. We're going to spend it," he vaulted up onto the table, striking a dramatic pose, "AT _THE LIBRARY!_"

Toph rolled her eyes, then kicked hard at one of Sokka's ankles, dumping him off the table and onto the floor. "Speaking of which, when do I get to pick _my_ vacation spot?" she asked.

Sokka picked himself up quickly. "Last one to join, last one to pick her vacation." Toph scowled. "Come on, we haven't a moment to lose!"

"Actually, we have nothing but moments to lose. I've been through that desert dozens of times, and I've never found it." Sokka stared at the professor.

"You just _live_ to kill moments like this, don't you?"

"All those times in the desert, you were walking, weren't you?" Aang asked. Zei nodded. The Avatar got a wide grin on his face. "Would you like to see my sky bison?"

* * *

Ty Lee peeked out of the corner where she had been hiding. Something in the universe must have brought her to this little bar for a reason. She watched silently as the Avatar and his companions filed out, the extremely enthusiastic Professor Zei rambling on about his excitement to see a sky bison. He was right to ramble. Sky bison were awesome.

She knew that they wouldn't recognize her. In her desert clothing, adapted from the same stuff she wore at home, they wouldn't have recognized her if she stepped on their toes, but she was still cautious. Zei exchanged some harsh words with some sandbenders, then happily got onto Appa. The whole group flew to the north, right into the heart of Si Wong. Ty Lee weighed her options. On one hand, she could go east and find her circus. On the other hand, the Avatar was heading north, and she wanted to see them again. She didn't weigh her options long.

She moved out to her mongoose dragon, which had a sandbender eyeballing it. She just stared at him, and he stepped away quickly. She mounted, and pausing only long enough to fill her skins with water, she struck out north, into the Si Wong desert.

* * *

Gahj Muul hated coming home. He pulled the broad-rimmed hat off of his head as he walked into the bar. He slammed his fist down on the bar, and cast a glance at the sandbenders nearby. "Leave," he told them. They stared at him. "Now."

The Sandbenders got the drift, and moved off. The bartender just stared at him. "Why are you scaring off my customers, Muul?"

"I'm looking for somebody. Girl might have come through here recently," Muul said. "Short. Dark hair, milky green eyes."

"Just missed her. Went north into the heart of the desert," the bartender said idly. Muul frowned, then grabbed the man and slammed his head into the countertop. He bent the stone counter to hold his head down.

"Don't lie to me. The Blind Bandit isn't a complete idiot. Only my people can survive Si Wong."

It was true. Only his people were tough enough to carve out a living in the Si Wong desert. Unfortunately, it had cost them a lot. Once, they were earthbenders, but as their generations went down the lines, they stopped producing people who could move the stone and earth, and instead those only capable of controlling sand. What a useless 'art' that was. Muul was lucky. When he learned to bend, it was a more useful purview.

"I'm not lying!" he said, desperately. "She left with a professor from Ba Singh Se with the Avatar!"

Muul scowled. The Avatar complicated things. Why he'd want to go into the desert was beyond him, but there was probably a reason. He knew he didn't have it in him to follow them into the desert. It would be too problematic to bring her back in. Where would she go next? Ba Singh Se was to the north, but only if one crossed the Serpent's Pass. To the east, though, was Burning Rock. He smiled. Of course. That was the only place a thief like her could be heading. He reached over and patted the bartender on the back. "You'd best hope I find her. If I don't, I'll come back for you. You've got a bit of money on yourself."

* * *

Sokka sat in the back of the saddle. It was his punishment for getting ink all over himself playing with one of his 'prototypes'. Toph, Katara, Aang and Zei looked respectively bored, bored, bored and overwhelmingly excited. The professor moved around the sky bison like a hyperactive child, even after so many hours in the air.

"Oh, you magnificent beast," Zei said, rubbing Appa's face. "Tell me, are you the last of your breed?" Appa let out a low groan. "Excellent! If only I could speak your language," Momo landed next to him and began to chatter. "Shush, chatty monkey!"

"I can't believe this," Katara said, scanning the depiction Zei had brought along of the library. "How could something that looks like this, in terrain like this, go unnoticed for so many years. Does this place even exist?"

Zei popped up. "Some say it doesn't."

Sokka rolled his eyes with a growl. "Why couldn't you have said that earlier?"

Silence stretched out as Sokka worked on getting a small enough hole into the metal disk. He kept glancing at Toph, though. She kept making moves on him, like she wanted to ride the wolf's tail. Which was wrong, because she was, what? Fourteen at the most? It was safest that he just keep his distance until the tyke got her hormones out of her and he could get back to doing what he did best; eating meat and being sarcastic. Suddenly, Toph straightened, pointing at the horizon.

"Look! There it is!" she shouted. Everybody crowded over to the side of the saddle, staring. There was nothing but featureless dunes of sand. Everybody turned to her. "That's what it's going to sound like when one of _you_ spots it," she said, waving her hand in front of unseeing eyes. Sokka laughed a bit at that. It _was_ a good one. Strange how quickly everybody forgot that she was blind.

Time passed. Katara went on about what they were going to do about Azula, who apparently had latched onto them like a more competent Zuko. "I don't see why we just don't put her in the ground," Toph said. But even Sokka could tell it was bravado.

"It's not her I'm worried about," Katara said.

"Crazy chick with the knives?" her brother asked.

"No, the other one. She did something to me that took my bending away," she rubbed her arms uncomfortably. "I don't ever want to feel that helpless again."

Time passed. Below them stretched what Sokka had been raised from birth to believe the very face of Hell. Katara looked equally uncomfortable. Even Aang was suffering in the unbelievable heat, and he took just about any weather condition in stride. Sokka squinted a glare went into his eyes. Aang turned, and squinted into the distance. "Do you all see that?"

"Ugh. What is wrong with you people?" Toph said. Sokka chuckled.

"Wait, I think I know what you mean," Katara said. Sokka turned. Years of living in the southern tundras had taught both of them two very important lessons with sight; how to see very well in the darkness, and how to see very well when it was too bright. And both could see something golden, rising out of the sands.

Aang brought Appa in, and even jaded, cynical Sokka couldn't restrain the gape which came to his expression. The place was... magnificent. It stood on an area which would have engulfed most of the North Capitol, its spires thrusting into the heavens with gold and silver. He wagered he could melt down one of those towers and buy the Fire Nation. Zei openly wept at the sight. "Finally," he said. "My life's ambition has finally come! Wan Shi Tong's library, oh, the nights I spend dreaming about you..."

Sokka rolled his eyes. There were far better things to dream about. He knew. He dreamed them. Aang grinned. "Come on, everybody. The libary's open!" Everybody moved to the door, except for Toph and Appa. Sokka turned back.

"You're not coming?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I've held books before. They didn't really do anything for me," she said. Right. Blind. "I'll just stay out here and keep the fuzzy one company. Let me know if there's anything to listen to in that place?"

"Don't worry, Appa, I'm not going to bring you underground," Aang said. It wouldn't have mattered. Appa wouldn't have fit through the doors, anyway. He _was_ a magical ten tonne bison, after all. Zei, of course, was the first one through the threshold. As soon as Sokka passed through, the air became cool. He knew this feeling. This was the spirit world reaching over. Fitting, for a place supposedly founded by a spirit.

"Oh, what unbelievable architecture. Just look at those magnificent buttresses!" Zei said. Both Aang and Sokka chuckled at that. "What?"

"Nothing. We're just fans of... architecture," Aang said. Good one, Aang.

"And look at that masterful ceramic mosaic displaying the visage of..." Zei trailed off when he realized nobody but him was really that interested. "Nice owl," he finished. A loud clacking filled the air inside the library. Sokka ducked behind a pillar, and the others did likewise. Only Zei, knowledge blinded fool that he was, stood out in the open. A huge form, black feathered and strigine, walked slowly amongst the shelves which stretched on up to the exceptionally high ceilings. The massive owl stopped, and turned.

"I know somebody is there," it said. Its voice reverberated, as old and stoic as knowledge itself. "Come out at once."

Zei stepped forward, a beaming grin on his face. "I am Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Singh Se University. Let me just say how much of an honor it is to finally see the magnificence of your library."

"A man of learning?" the spirit asked. "Good. Others have come here, and I was not impressed with their zeal. But if you are lying, you will be the _stuffed_ head of anthropology," it waved to a wall displaying taxidermied heads. "And what of the others?"

Oh. So he spotted them, too? Aang stepped out, and the others followed him. "You are the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Aang asked.

"Yes. I am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows 10,000 Things," the spirit said. "And you are humans, for whom I have very little patience."

"What happened to make you dislike humans so much?" Aang asked. Sokka face-palmed. It was seldom a good idea to make people explain why they hated something.

"Humans only use the knowledge I possess in order to gain an advantage over other humans. Like that firebender who came here years ago, trying to destroy his enemy," Wan Shi Tong said. It leaned forward, its neck growing long. It stared directly at Sokka. "So, who are you trying to destroy?"

"What us? No, nobody!" Sokka said, nervously. It was hard to be composed when an eye the size of his head blinked unpleasantly at him. "We're not into that."

"Then why did you come here?"

Sokka glanced to his friends. Zei would probably spout on about... "Learning for the sake of learning?" Sokka hazarded. The spirit pulled back, almost contemptuously.

"If you're going to lie, at least put some effort into it."

"I'm not lying. Look," he said, grabbing Aang. "This is the Avatar, the bridge between our worlds. He can vouch for me."

Without missing a beat, Aang bowed. "Of course. I swear the knowledge we gain will not be used in our hands for destructive purposes."

Wan Shi Tong stared. "Very well. If you are truly seekers of knowledge, you must prove your worth as scholars and add to the fullness of knowledge in this library," Zei looked a bit confused, then reached into his pack and pulled out a battered looking book. "Ah, a first edition _Histories of the Ba Singh Se Riots_. Very nice," Katara looked a bit perturbed, but held out her stolen waterbending scroll. "Oh, that's very stylish. Acceptable," Aang just grinned and produced a Fire Nation wanted poster of himself. The spirit tipped his head to the side. "I suppose that counts as knowledge," Wan Shi Tong turned to Sokka.

He smirked, holding up his prototype. The owl just stared at him. "It's a brush that holds its ink on the inside," Sokka explained. "It lets a little bit out at a time into the felt, so you can always have a steady flow, and not need to worry about messes or the heat," Wan Shi Tong looked down at Sokka's inkstained pants, then up at his inkstained hands.

"You're not very bright, are you?" the spirit asked. It almost shrugged, and it swept its wing out. All of their examples vanished into thin air. "Please enjoy the library."

* * *

Sokka wandered amongst the shelves and shelves of lore and information. Every now and then, he saw one which caught his eye, and he tucked it into his rucksack. Zei had already gone ahead of him, and was pouring over atlases. That would be just the thing. He moved past Zei and went to the section on the West Continent. When he unfurled them, he let out a disappointed groan. "Even Wan Shi Tong doesn't have up to date maps of the Fire Nation. This thing must have been made when Sozin was a toddler!"

"They probably have a whole section on the Fire Nation somewhere," Zei said cheerfully. Sokka shook his head, and opened up another scroll. It looked like it was supposed to be a map of the world, but it looked very different. Great Whales was a contiguous continent, the West Continent was much bigger, the East, broken up and smaller. He scowled at it. "And this one looks like it's from somebody's fantasy book."

Zei's eye fell on it, and they grew wide. "_THAT'S IT!_" he cried. "I knew Fan Tong's theories were right! How else could Grand Ember have a city that's permanently under the water?"

"Poor city planning?" Sokka asked.

"No. The theory is that every twelve centuries, the Earth undergoes a massive shift in its surface structure, literally reshaping the planet," he said. "And these are proof! Oh, people need to know about this before the catastrophe comes and it's too late!"

"Wait, what catastrophe?" Sokka asked.

"The Grand Shift," Zei said theatrically. "When the entire world dances with earthquakes and is reborn in dust. By the dates here, it's due very soon. We need to let people know!"

"Soon, how soon?" Sokka asked, alarmed.

"No more than a hundred and forty years," Zei said solemnly. Sokka just stared at him.

"You're panicking over something which is going to happen a century from now? Maybe?" Sokka asked. Zei just turned to the halls.

"Wan Shi Tong!" he called. The great bird leaned from next to a stack, as though he had been waiting there. "I need to bring this knowledge to the outside world!"

"To what advantage would this knowledge bring?" the spirit asked.

"To safeguard humanity and advance our understanding of the world," Zei said. The spirit pondered briefly.

"That is acceptable," it said, and it leaned away. Sokka peered around the corner. Wan Shi Tong wasn't there anymore.

"Creepy."

* * *

"Hey Katara, look at these crazy lion turtle things," Aang said, looking at the illustrated scroll. She glanced his way, and went back to reading whatever it was she was looking at. He shook his head. Sokka was right coming to this place. It had all kinds of neat stuff in it. He put it away and moved down the stack. His fingers pulled out another scroll, this one almost crumbling to dust as he opened it. His eyes scanned it; it was in a language even _he_ didn't know. There were bits and pieces that seemed like he could almost read them, but then...

"Have you found something useful?" Katara asked, suddenly leaning over his shoulder. She was very close. He glanced up at her.

"I don't know," he said. He ran his finger down the lines. "The language is something like Uou, but it's written like it's in Whalesh," he squinted, reciting. "...and an age of great – Plague? Disease? – there will arise a... Dark Avatar. And the world shall weep, till the rise of the Paragons, that shall..."

He shook his head. "I can't read it. It's probably just gibberish anyway."

"Yeah, who's ever heard of a 'Dark Avatar'?" Katara asked. She pointed at something she was reading. "Hey, Aang, did you know that when you were Avatar Touph, you were left handed?"

"I always knew I was special."

* * *

Sokka poked and prodded at the machine. It was enormous, filling an entire room. At its heart was a great light that shone without fire. Then, running on circular tracks around it, were four other spheres of brass. He recognized it the instant he walked into the room. It was a mechanical model of this solar system.

He walked from the outside, in. He started with Banyan Heian, the great eye of the dark. Larger than anything else in the system, far away and on the outermost track. It was surrounded by tiny globes that extended out of its base. Moons? He moved closer. The Earth, it's sole moon made of some white metal. He touched it, briefly thinking of Yue. Beyond it, another brass globe, but this one seemed amateurishly done. It was misshapen, and seemed like it was throwing off flotsam into the air. The last was a tiny thing, very close to the sun. He walked up to the sun, and pressed one of the buttons at its base. There was a great whirring and the sound of gears connecting, moving. The thing began to move. And then stopped, almost immediately, its planets just slightly altered, the moon above the earth just a little bit further in its cycle.

"Well, that was underwhelming," Sokka said. He looked at the displayed date. It was set for almost a thousand years ago. He got an idea. He moved it to a spot a few days from now, then pressed the button again. The machine began to whir and spin, moving the entire rig. Faster, and faster, until he had to huddle against the control panel, because the whole thing was moving at a blur. Then, it began to slow, to settle. When it stopped, something was odd about the earth. The entire world was in darkness. The moon was blocking the sunlight. "Weird," he said. Not trusting himself to play with the massive machine any further, he wandered out of the planetarium.

* * *

Sokka wandered, and eventually bumped into his sister and Aang. "Any luck?" Katara asked.

"If we were invading a hundred years ago, yes," Sokka said. She rolled her eyes. Aang looked around a corner, and then let out a happy yell.

"Everybody, come quick!" he said. Sokka rounded the corner, and almost fell to his knees with relief. Hanging above the door of this wing was the old symbol for the Fire Nation. "I knew if we looked hard enough, we'd find something."

Sokka moved into the room, but when he did, he actually did fall to his knees. He looked at the wing of the library, supposed to contain every piece of knowledge that ever existed, and all he saw was ashes. The entire wing had been burned to the ground. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Just as soon I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out that they beat us here a long time ago. This is so unfair!"

"So we didn't find out anything on the Fire Nation," Katara said. "This place wasn't a total loss. Look at all the things we've learned about..."

"That doesn't matter!" Sokka shouted. "I just wanted something I could use to end this war, and every time I think I'm getting close, it just blows up in my face," he stood walking to a shelf and kicking it out of frustration. A display box fell out of the charred shelves, its glass face shattering as it hit the floor. He stared at it. The paper, though badly singed, was still intact. He picked it up.

"What does it say?" he said, passing it to Aang. His proficiency in Huojian didn't extend to reading it. Yet. The Avatar looked at it and shook his head.

"It's old. Older than what I speak," he said.

"If this survived, then other things must have as well," Sokka said. "There's a chance, just a slight chance, that we can find something that we can use to take down the Fire Nation and end this war once and for all!"

There was a clicking sound from the doorway. Sokka's blood ran cold. He turned. Wan Shi Tong was standing there, its eyes drawn angrily down. "I should have known," it said. "You have betrayed my trust. From the very beginning, you were going to use this knowledge for destructive purposes!"

"You don't understand," Sokka said. "The Fire Nation is evil and destructive! Look at what they did to your library. They're destructive and dangerous..."

"One mortal is much the same as another," Wan Shi Tong shouted, its voice tearing through the room. "Do you believe you are the first people to think their war is justified? Countless times mortals have walked through those doors, asking for a secret or a technique or a technology to destroy their mortal enemies, and countless times I have turned them back, sternly."

"I'm sorry," Aang said quietly. "We were just trying to protect the people we love."

Wan Shi Tong leaned forward. "And I am going to protect what I love. I am taking my knowledge back! No one will ever abuse it again!"

* * *

Toph looked at Appa, for what it was worth. She could hear its heart beating, but she didn't have any real idea what it looked like. It was just big, fuzzy Appa, as far as she could tell. "So," she said. "You like flyin'?"

It answered with a low grunt from where it was lying in the shade. She shrugged. "Of course, I prefer to be on the ground. When I'm up in the air, I can't actually see anything. Not that I see, really. I sense vibrations with my feet, so I know where everybody is. But this sand is so loose and shifty. It makes everything look all... fuzzy," Appa groaned. "Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy," she amended. The thing... rolled over, maybe, and let out a loud bellow. The ground seemed to shudder. "No, I don't want to snuggle," she said.

It let out another bellow, this one with a note of urgency. She pressed a bandaged hand into the sand, even though it burned like fire. The sound was coming from the library. Her eyes went wide. "Library sinking," she muttered. "LIBRARY_ SINKING!_" She ran over to the wall near a window and tried to hold the edifice up, but her feet slid away on loose sand. She turned, plunging her hand into the sand, and gave it a hard twist, turning it into a sort of natural glass. She then slammed her hands into the wall again. It still slid past her. She needed more grip. Cursing in every language she knew, she leaned back, then slammed her fists directly into the stone wall, exploding pain throughout her arms. And she held it. And the Library stopped.

"Come on, Twinkletoes, I can't hold this thing forever!" she shouted.

* * *

"We've got to get out of here!" Katara shouted. "He's sinking the library!"

"Oh, I can't allow you to leave," Wan Shi Tong said menacingly. It opened its mighty wings, and its neck seemed to extend until it dominated the room. "You have betrayed my trust for the last time. You already know too much."

The spirit struck like lightning, trying to smash and snap at anybody it could. The group scattered, and Aang tried to reason with the spirit. "Please, you don't need to do this. All I want is to restore the balance to the world."

"I care nothing for your world, Avatar," Wan Shi Tong shouted. "All that ever mattered to me is here. You have betrayed it. And you shall meet the end of your companions."

"I can't let you kill them," Aang said, his brow drawing down. He moved forward, to engage the beast, as Sokka and Katara fled. After they were clear of the Fire Nation's ruined depository of knowledge Katara turned back.

"We have to get Aang," she said. "I can't leave him here."

"He'll be fine!" Sokka shouted. "He's the Avatar, he does this sort of stuff all the time. We need to get ourselves out of here so he doesn't have to do something stupid to save _us!_"

Katara stared back at that room with a look on her face that Sokka didn't like very much. It wasn't the kind of look he wanted to see on his little sister. He grabbed her arm and began to pull her along. After some initial resistance, she began to run with him. After only a few steps, there was a great lurch, and both fell to the ground, before picking themselves up and moving again. As he ran, he almost tripped to a stop when he came across Zei, sitting on the floor, reading books. "Zei, we have to leave, Wan Shi Tong is going to bury the library," Sokka said.

"That's alright," Zei said brightly. "I'm exactly where I want to be."

"Are you out of your mind? You'll be killed!" Katara shouted.

"I'm not leaving. I can't," he said. A note of sadness finally entered his voice. "I spent my entire life looking for this place. Now that I'm here, how could I possibly abandon it? There isn't another collection of knowledge like this anywhere on Earth," he got a dreamy look in his eyes. "I could spend an eternity here."

Sokka stared at him. "You're out of your mind," he said.

Zei snapped back, and reached behind him. "Please, you have to take this to Ba Singh Se University. It is vital to the continued existence of humanity!"

"Right. I'll get right on that," he said, taking the scroll and putting it into his over-stuffed rucksack. He was about to say something else when Katara pushed him to the ground. A black, cruel beak slammed into the floor where he had been standing. Wan Shi Tong was here.

"I'll hold him off," Katara said. "Get to the door!"

Sokka looked at his baby sister as she bent the water she carried into a whip that snapped and cracked at the physical spirit, pulling its attention. Every fiber of his being told him to protect her. Every fiber of his mind told him she would protect herself. He got up, leaving Professor Zei to his fate, come good or ill, and he began to run. The foyer with the mosaic owl passed under his feet, and he skidded to a stop. Sand was pouring through the door, and not a glimmer of sunlight passed through. The library was already buried.

* * *

Toph strained as she tried to keep the structure above the sands. Every time her hands started to come out of the holes she punched into the wall, sliding away. She slammed them in again, trying to keep it steady. It wasn't easy. Pain was everything. She felt a hot slickness over her hands, and she knew it was not sweat. But she held. The library tried to descend, but she would not allow it.

"No. Stop sinking!" she shouted. Behind her, she could hear Appa moving around, bellowing with alarm. But there came another sound. Like a wind, but harsher, more abrasive. She could feel... something... out there. She had a job to do, though. She held the library up. Then, came the voices. They shouted in Akbiihu at her back.

"_You were right. It is here!_"

"_Where is its rider?_"

"_Who cares? One less problem. Ready the catch lines._"

Toph turned over her shoulder as Appa's cries went from alarm and uncertainty to outright fear. "Don't make me put this down!" she screamed. She turned, thrusting out a wall of stone. But the wall didn't obey her. Instead, sand sprayed away. She tried harder, but the sand was a cruel, indifferent element. It ignored her. She turned back, catching the stone as it sunk rapidly, bringing back to a halt.

"_Ready? Take the line!_"

"_Gashuin, he's out of control!_"

"_Put a muzzle on him, we don't know what these things eat._"

"Leave him alone you inbred sack-wipes!" she shouted, screamed, cursed. She didn't know what they were doing. All she had were her ears. And they weren't enough.

"_Ransack the saddle. Who knows what treasures are hidden there._"

"_What is this thing? Oooh, pretty._"

"_That looks ridiculous. Put it back. Are you sure we have a buyer in Ba Singh Se?_"

"I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!" Toph roared. She turned again, and this time, focused all of her might into a single point which she sent toward where she heard Appa's pleading cries. Finally, she felt it connect with something. But she had to turn back, and grab the library again. It was moving so fast.

"_We should leave. That girl won't be distracted for long._"

"_Wait a minute. I recognize her. She's that girl with that enormous bounty on her head! She's worth more than ten of these beasts!_"

Toph's heart sank. She couldn't feel them coming, she couldn't see them coming, and with the pandemonium, she couldn't hear them coming. But she knew they were. She turned, bracing the building behind her, prepared to stop whatever came. A whip coiled around her arm. She flicked it off and kicked a burst of sand which swelled down the coil and upended its owner. The coil fell away. Another line, weighted with metal, wrapped around her legs, and pulled tight. She twisted her feet, trying to bury them in the glass, but the pull was beyond strong. Her feet were pulled out from under her, and she was dragged across the sand. Even before her head bounced off the ground, she already had that thought bouncing through her head. I'm sorry guys. I wasn't strong enough.

* * *

"You've got to be frickin' kidding me!" Soka shouted. He turned back, but Wan Shi Tong was dueling his sister in the atrium. There was no easy way past. And he was not going to abandon his sister. "We have to go up! The door is already buried!"

"And you shall die here," Wan Shi Tong said, pausing. He turned to Katara. "Do you really think you can beat me, little girl? I am a spirit of knowledge and wisdom," Sokka turned, and saw a ladder reaching up to a higher level. He scaled it quickly. "I have such knowledge that it would take a hundred mortal lifetimes to gain. War, dueling, combat, bending. I've studied South Water Style. I've studied North Water Style. I've even studied Whalesh River Style. What could you possibly have that I do not already surpass you at?"

Sokka grabbed the thickest book he could find and leapt off the walkway with it, crashing book first into the spirit's head. He still landed badly, but Wan Shi Tong took the hit far worse. He slumped to the stone, badly dazed. Sokka picked himself up. "It's called Sokka Style. _Learn it!_"

Aang finally came into view, zipping along the floor on his air scooter. He stopped right before reaching Wan Shi Tong, who was trying to collect himself. Katara put her water away and pointed upward, to the highest spire. "Aang, we need to go up. The library is vanishing into the desert."

Aang looked at the spirit sadly, then back to the siblings. He nodded. "Get on, and hold on tight."

Katara and Sokka each grabbed onto the airbender's robes, and Aang began to fly. The winds were terrific and frightening, blasting the glider and its three riders spiralling up toward the spire, and the light still shining down from it. From below, Wan Shi Tong screeched its fury. It began to fly toward them. Katara looked over at Sokka. "Why are you still carrying that?" she asked, indicating the large book he still held with a tightness of fear to his chest. He looked down at it, and let out a laugh.

"You cannot escape–" Wan Shi Tong began, but Sokka hurled the book at it. It smacked the spirit, disrupting its flight just a bit. Just enough, he hoped. The glider climbed, away from the stacks, and into the light of the spire. So close. So close...

* * *

Ty Lee didn't like what she saw. The big building sinking into the sand rapidly wasn't her problem, but she saw Appa, the Avatar's bison being dragged away in the distance behind sandbenders. And worse than that, she saw a few others trussing up a bloody little girl near the center of the action. Ty Lee's jaw set, and she urged her mongoose dragon forward to its full sprint. She flashed down the dunes, over the shifting hills and valleys of the desert which was so much, and yet so little, like the home she'd run away from. She almost was upon them when they turned and noticed her.

They shouted at her in their language, and she answered by leaping off of her mount and punching one in the spine. Not because it would impact his fighting ability in any significant manner; just because he deserved a good spine punching. She moved through the blowing sand, her long eyelashes tucked tight to keep out the whirling grit. She tried to punch and chi-block them, but their clothes were too bulky. It was like they were wearing armor.

It wouldn't work. She pulled out the short knife she kept at her back and began slashing the lines which had almost mummified the bloody girl. The sandbenders shouted at her. "Try speaking a useful language, you savages!" she shouted back, feeling quite angry. Trying to kidnap a little girl, in the desert, and leave the Avatar to die. It wasn't right! She knew her usual style wasn't going to work, so she tried one which her friend Mai favored; when all else fails, hit them in the head.

The sandbenders shouted and flailed as she moved amongst them. They thought the desert was theirs alone. They didn't know about Ember, apparently. She grew up with heat and blasting winds. One of them hurled a line at her, and she let out a shriek. It almost snared her, but a freak gust of wind blew it just a bit wide, and she was able to contort her way out of it. She kept fighting, knowing that she was effectively unarmed, outnumbered, and alone. She looked back, and saw that they had lassoed her mongoose dragon, and were dragging it back to their boat-like thingy.

"Hey! That doesn't belong to you!" The girl next to her stood, wincing as she took a stance despite her ragged arms. She threw out a punch, and it rippled along the sand until it caught the last one, sending him flying into the air. He answered by bending the sand into a cushion, then getting onto his sand sled thing, and sailing away. Ty Lee sat down on the desert.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked, harshly, and without looking at her.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Ty Lee asked. The girl turned, and stared behind them. Ty Lee did the same. The entire building was vanishing into the sand. Only a single spire poked above the surface of the sands. The girl snarled, then turned to Ty Lee and punched her really hard in the face. "Owww. What was that for?"

There were tears in her eyes. Her glazed, milky eyes. Oh. Oh, she knew where this girl was from. The road outside of Shr-Wa. She just sat on the sand, looking across the desert. She was lost, with somebody who had every reason to dislike her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I want you to know that. I really am sorry."

"Well you can shove your 'sorry' straight up your..." she stopped herself, wincing in pain and flapping her arms. Sand was getting into them.

"Please, let me help you."

"No! No more help! I'm all alone out here, just like always," the girl said loudly. Ty Lee just touched her shoulder. The girl looked down. "Why does it always hurt?"

Ty Lee just pulled out her water skin and poured some on the arms, washing away the blood and sand. The girl's knuckles were split open, but from her fingers to her elbows were all raw scars. It must hurt like anything. "Just trust me," she said. She grabbed the girl's shoulders and twisted them slightly, before pushing in at special points. The blind girl's eyes swam for a moment. "Better?"

"Now I can't feel anything," she said. She just stared at Ty Lee, torn between hatred and something else. Ty Lee looked up, her heart rising into her throat. A flash of orange in the sky, plummeting down toward the earth. It landed hard, and rolled away. Katara, Sokka, and Aang, all of them just out of the Library, which stopped sinking into the ground. She stood, needlessly dusting off her concealing garb. Concealing from everybody but the blind girl, at least.

"Oh yeah!" Sokka shouted. "Us one, spirit nothing!"

Aang looked around, his face growing more and more panicked. "Where's Appa?" he asked. He ran all the way around the spire with unbelievable speed. "Where's Appa?" he shouted. He looked at her. "Where is my bison?"

"I couldn't stop them," the blind girl said, her head hanging low.

"I came too late," Ty Lee said.

With a look of unbridled sadness, the Avatar sank to his knees, his eyes filling with tears. And alone, the Avatar wept.

* * *

**Different circumstances leading up to the events of The Boy In The Iceburg lead for a different circumstances in Si Wong. Yes, I'm still torturing Toph. Yes, I make up for it later. For the next couple of chapters, there's a lot of things changing. Especially since they didn't learn the date of the Solar Eclipse that they could use, or even that a Solar Eclipse would be useful to them. They'll have to figure that out, later. Don't worry, though. You still get stoned Sokka. **


	9. The Desert

**Yes, Sokka's joke is lifted from the Simpsons. When I was writing it, I had my own, but it paled in comparison. For the next little while, the Gaang is one larger than it used to be, and people are going in different directions than they did before. Instead of escaping to the north of Si Wong, Aang and company headed east. And there are a lot of ramifications to that. This one was easy, if time consuming, to write, mostly because the only thing that I really felt a pressure to do right was the Avatar State vision.**

* * *

Ty Lee looked at the people gathered around the spire. Sokka stared at the distance. Aang looked a way she hadn't ever seen him before; furious. Katara ran to the blind girl next to her. "Toph, you're bleeding!" she said. "Are you alright?"

"It could have been a lot worse," Toph muttered, pulling her hands away from Katara. Aang rounded on Toph and began to shout.

"How could you let them take Appa?" he shouted. "Why didn't you stop them?"

"The library was sinking!" Toph shouted back, not giving an inch. "Was I supposed to just leave you in there to die?"

"It didn't even go all the way under," Aang countered. "We would have been fine!

"And how was I supposed to know that, Twinkletoes?" Toph got a hard set in her jaw. "The sandbenders snuck up on me. I can't feel anything out here. And before I knew it, they bagged Appa and were going to make off with me, too. Until the annoying one cut me loose, anyway," Toph said. "But by then, they were already gone."

Aang's eye twitched. "You never liked Appa. You wanted him gone!"

"It wasn't her fault, Aang," Ty Lee said. He swung his staff at her, and a wall of air blew her off her feet.

"And who are you?" he screamed. "Some sandbender to steal our water and leave us here to die?"

"Aang, please, calm down," Katara said.

"Water. WATER!" Ty Lee said, scrambling away, to where her Mongoose Dragon had been. It had to be around here somewhere. She dug at the sand, and found it. The water container. It was upside down, and empty. The sand under it was damp. "No! You savages killed us all!"

"Everybody, calm down," Sokka tried to get in, but Aang turned to him.

"I'm going to find Appa," he said, snapping open his glider and taking to the skies. Katara watched him leave, but Sokka pointed at Ty Lee. She moved over, and saw the acrobat's problem.

"Wait a second," she said, and she began to do her waterbending, pulling the water up out of the sand and into the container. There was only half as much as she'd put in. The rest had probably evaporated. They all stared at the pitiful amount of water. The same thought ran through every mind, she wagered. Can we all make it on this much? Ty Lee knew the answer, and it made her sad.

"Who are you?" Katara finally asked. Ty Lee faced her.

"Oh, now you finally ask? Done ignoring me, thinking I'm beneath your notice," Ty Lee said. Then she paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"You sound familiar," she said.

"Of course she does," Sokka said. "You've come to an odd place for a dancing lesson."

Katara got an odd look on her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone an array of emotions that Ty Lee couldn't even hope to unpackage.

"Yeah, and is Crazy waiting to jump out of the dirt to attack us?" Toph asked, facing completely the wrong direction.

"I'm alone," she said, her voice small. "I followed you out here, because I thought you'd be in trouble. I wanted to help."

"We don't need your help," Katara said.

"Yeah, you're working for the enemy," Sokka said. He didn't sound as antagonistic, though.

"She's my friend. She needs me," Ty Lee said.

"And when she tries to kill Aang, where will you be?" Katara asked. Ty Lee didn't have an answer for that.

"Just leave her," Toph said.

"You might not realize this," Ty Lee said, putting aside her hurt feelings for the moment, "but I'm probably the best chance you all have of surviving this desert right now."

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked.

"My home is a desert. This place is like my back yard, but with less rocks and more sand," she said. "You don't trust me? Fine. But I'm leaving this desert. And if you want to survive, you'll follow me."

She began to trudge away, a slight breeze pushing the sand and some of the stifling heat away from her. She looked back. The Avatar's companions looked amongst themselves, talking amongst themselves. Please, she thought. Let them follow me. I don't want them to die out here because of me.

* * *

"I don't trust her," Katara said again. Sokka just rolled his eyes. Of course, he was the one who had to carry the stranger's water. He didn't mind. It just meant he had more water.

"Well, I don't see you coming up with a way of getting out of this little slice of Hell," He said blithely. It was hot. Hotter than anything he'd ever felt outside of a fire pit. And so, so very dry. He was about to make a joke, but Toph walked right into him. "Hey, can't you watch where you're..."

"_No_," Toph said, tersely. Sokka chuckled, and rubbed the back of his neck. It was sensitive and hot.

"Right. Sorry."

Toph just stared, her head swinging around like she couldn't figure out where anything was. Probably because, for the first time she could remember, she actually couldn't. "I'm so dry. Could I get some water?" Toph asked.

"Alright, but we have to conserve it," she said, drawing water out of the barrel at Sokka's back. She separated it into three balls, but paused, looking ahead at Ty Lee. She scowled, then split it four ways, and bent it into the mouths of those thirsty people waiting. Sokka swished it around, and swallowed. "Tastes like bugs."

"It was in the ground," Toph said. "Bugs would be the least of our worries."

"At least we're not drinking her bending water," Sokka said. "She got that from the swamp."

"When were you in a swamp?" Toph asked.

"You're going to have to be careful with that," Katara said. "It's all the water we've got. Hey, do you want water or not?"

Ty Lee looked back at them, and shook her head. "I'm good for a while. Like I said, I'm used to this sort of weather."

Sokka sighed, and he moved across the sand. Over a crest, he saw something which made him grin. A cactus, all barrel-like growths and spines, sat at the valley of the dunes. He slid down quickly, letting the barrel of water off of his back. Katara called ahead to him. "Sokka, you shouldn't be eating strange plants!"

"You should listen to your sister, Sokka," Ty Lee said, but Sokka ignored her and cut off a section with his machete and began to suck at the plentiful juices. It flowed easily down his throat, pooling and nourishing him.

"There's water trapped in these things," he said, cutting open another growth, and sucking it down.

"STOP DRINKING THAT!" Ty Lee shouted.

"You don't want any? Suit yourself," Sokka said. It was so very quenching. "It's very thirst quenching." That feeling of being so... thoroughly... quenched. He turned to them, the slice in his hand. "Drink the cactus juice! It'll quench ya'!"

"Oh, no," Ty Lee muttered.

"Catcus juice, nothing's quenchier," he declared. "It's the quenchiest!"

"Sokka, we have that where I live," Ty Lee said. "It's the Barrel Peyote. It's filled with a powerful hallucinogen."

Katara took the slice out of his hand. "I think you've had enough."

Sokka turned to Toph. He tilted his head. "Who lit Toph on fire?" he asked.

* * *

"Azula," Toph answered, annoyed. She turned to Ty Lee. "Do you think I can get some of that cactus?" she asked.

"Maybe when you're older," Ty Lee said, unsteadily. Sokka was already out of his mind, his blue eyes practically black because the pupils had opened so wide.

"We need to find Aang," Katara said.

"No, we don't," Ty Lee said. "It's the middle of the day. Move now, and you'll sweat to death."

"But how are we going to get out, then? And what about Aang?" she asked, her tone rising. Ty Lee sighed, shaking her head.

"How'd we end up in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked, staring straight up.

"Why are you telling us to stop? What are you planning?" Katara then sighed. "Why do I keep doing this? I'm supposed to be better than this."

"I know," Ty Lee said. "It's hard. You're alone, you don't know what to do, and you feel abandoned. I can sympathize. But I have no intention of dying out here. And I don't want you to die, either. I like you people, even if you do try to kill me sometimes."

"You're a strange creature," Toph muttered as she bumped into Katara. "Who's that?"

"It's just me, Toph," Katara said.

"Ugh. I hate the desert," Toph grumbled. She was muttering to herself when a great blast of wind surged over the top of the dune, so powerful it knocked everybody except Ty Lee off her feet. Confused, she climbed up to the top of the dune and looked over. Katara and the others joined her.

"What was that?" Katara asked.

"What was what?" Toph asked, from where she remained below.

A mushroom shaped cloud of sand was rising in the distance. Sokka smiled brightly. "It's a giant _mushroom_. MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY!"

"I definitely need to get some of that cactus," Toph said.

"Friendly mushroom! Mushy giant friend!" Sokka chanted, bowing to the dust cloud.

"We should stop here," Ty Lee said. "We're in the shade, and it'll protect us until nightfall."

"Why? Shouldn't we be getting distance with the light?"

"Have you noticed how hot it gets during the day?" Ty Lee asked. She rolled her eyes, which she realized were the only part of her body visible. "If we hide in the day and move with the night, we might be able to stretch out our water."

"Suddenly its _ours_?"

"I brought enough for me and my mongoose dragon, enough to get all the way through the desert. More than half of it's gone, and I'm sharing it between five," she said. "I don't know if it'll be enough, but I've got to try."

In the shade, and relative cool, they waited. Finally, with a streak downward from the heavens, the Avatar slammed into the ground, causing dust to fly in every direction. He had an expression somewhere between grief and frenzy. If he were any other person, she would have taken a look at his aura, seen if there was something she could do. But he was the Avatar. He looked at Katara, and shook his head slowly.

"I'm sorry you couldn't find Appa," Katara said with utter sincerity.

"Now, we need to focus on staying alive," Ty Lee said. He turned to her, hate in his eyes.

"What, we're listening to the enemy now?" he asked, his voice laden with rage. Tears welled in Ty Lee's eyes. What had happened to him? He used to be so happy.

"The only reason we have enough water is because she's sharing hers," Katara said. "We need to work together if we're going to walk out of this desert. Right, Toph?"

"As far as I can see, I'm standing in a bowl of sand pudding," Toph said, kicking sand. "I've got nothin'."

Katara looked at her brother. "Sokka?"

"They call them fingers, but I never see them 'fing'," Sokka said, staring up at his hands. "Oh, wait, there they go."

Ty Lee shook her head, slowly. Then, Katara grabbed Aang, then her brother, and she scooped Toph forward, as she began to walk. "Come on, it's dark now. We've got to make the most of the cold," she said, her voice solid in the darkness. Ty Lee was... almost in awe.

They walked all through the night, falling into sleep just as Agni was beginning to redden the sky to the east. They would need to move, eventually, but until then, they all dreamed of the cold, except for one. One alone dreamt of old friends and new friends, and hoped to find a way to make them all love each other.

* * *

Zuko didn't like the look of the bar. It stank of alcohol, but the back wall was covered in fruit, for some reason. He was more than a little surprised when he walked in that there wasn't a copious amount of blood on the floor. "Uncle, why are we stopping here? We're out of money, anyway."

"I know, Nephew," Iroh said. "But I thought it might do us well to visit some old friends. And I think I see one, now."

Iroh moved to a Pai Sho table, and Zuko caught his collar. "You've brought us all the way to the back end of the East Continent to gamble on Pai Sho?" he asked flatly.

"I wouldn't call this a gamble," Iroh said cheerfully. Zuko slapped his forehead with his palm. He sat at the round table, holding his hands out, cupped. "May I have this game?"

The man sitting at the table was very old, his head bald and spotted from the sun. He looked up, his eyes crinkled creases into his head, and waved his hand at the board. "Welcome. The guest has the first lay," he said.

Iroh reached into his sleeve and laid a white lotus tile in the center of the board. An illegal move, if Zuko remembered. The opponent seemed to sense this, because his eyebrow raised. "I see you are one who still uses the white lotus gambit. I did not think you one to cling to the old ways."

Iroh smiled. "Those who do, can always find a friend,"

The opponent smiled. "Then let us play," he said. He laid a Capitol tile on the center line, at the edge of the board. Also an illegal move. Capitols were eleventh lay or later. Iroh countered by placing a Rampart directly opposite it. Illegal again, since he had no Soldiers, and his white lotus was far away. The two began trading moves, back and forth, with increasing speed, and very few of the lays were technically legal. And not a single actual move. But as the pace increased, Zuko saw a pattern. This wasn't a game. This was a test. Working together, they made a symbol, a lotus out of tiles, with the white lotus tile sitting squarely in the center. The opponent cupped his hands. "Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

Zuko was finally frustrated. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

"You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate," Iroh said. He turned to Zuko, with a knowing wink, rolling the Soldier tile over his fingers. "I always told you that Pai Sho was more than just a game."

"Please, come with me quickly," the opponent said, rising from the table. Iroh paused only long enough to scoop up his white lotus, before they all went out into the night. "I must say, I did not expect one so high to come calling upon my humble table, Grand Lotus."

"I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I might like to see somebody who wasn't trying to kill me," Iroh said with a smile. The opponent knocked on the door of a flower shop, and entered quickly.

"As a Grand Master, you must be privy to much," the opponent said.

"In theory, but I have been detached from affairs for the last few months," Iroh said.

"So, what? You play a game of Pai Sho, and now you're going to do some flower arranging?" Zuko asked, a bit baffled.

"Please have patience with my nephew," Iroh said, calmly. "He has little love for the cryptic arts," Iroh moved to the back room and rapped five times on the door. A slider opened, and a pair of dark eyes stared at him.

"Who dares knock on the garden gate?" the voice asked.

"One who has eaten of the fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh said. Zuko raised an eyebrow, and tried to follow, but Iroh forestalled him. "I'm sorry, Nephew. This place is... well, 'members only', you could say. Please, be patient." And with that, Iroh was gone, the door locked.

Great. Alone in a flower shop. He could think of maybe two places he'd like _less_ to be, and one of them was anywhere near his sister. He looked around. Nobody was watching him. Tentatively, he leaned over and sniffed a flower. Hmm. Not bad.

* * *

Katara was tired. Bone tired. And bone dry, besides. They'd used the last of Ty Lee's water during the day, and when the sun went down, they roused themselves. Toph popped up first, jawing her mouth.

"Yesterday, my mouth tasted like mud," she said. "Now it tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud."

"Sokka, are you alright?" she asked. He was a bit woozy, but he waved her away. He was probably just embarrassed from when he woke her up in the middle of the morning with his paranoid ramblings. Three times. One in particular stuck with her mind.

"Katara," he said, looming over her, his eyes big as dinner plates. "I have something important to tell you. It might be the most important thing in the ENTIRE WORLD."

"What is it, Sokka?" she asked, suddenly alarmed.

"I think Toph wants to have _sex_ with me!" he said, in horror. Toph just muttered something in her sleep, trying to stay in the shade. Katara just rolled her eyes.

"Sokka, you're out of your mind on cactus juice. Go to sleep."

Aang was, still, seething on a boil. He stood up without a word, looking up at the sky. He pulled out his bison whistle, and gave it a hard blow. Nothing happened. His eyes dropped, and he put the whistle away. He didn't look like he'd slept a wink. Ty Lee bounded over the dune. Had she slept either? If she hadn't, she wasn't showing it. "Well?" she said. "It's dark. We should move."

They were all about to move when Aang's eyes went up again, and for just a blinding second, they burned with joy. "Appa!" he shouted, staring up. Katara looked up, staring at the darkness. Something dark floated in front of the moon.

"Appa?" Sokka asked. "But Princess Yue wouldn't need him; she's the moon! She can fly on her own!" everybody turned to him. He blinked, shaking his head. "Sorry. I guess I'm still a bit out of it..."

She shook her head. "A cloud," her head snapped back up. "A cloud! Aang, you could fly up there and bend the water into my pouch!"

Aang looked like she'd just told him to punch Monk Gyatso. He snatched the pouch away, and snapped open the glider between them. He soared into the air, and with two quick swipes, gathered the entire cloud up. He slammed back down into the sand again. It got into everybody's eyes and mouths. Except for Ty Lee's, at least. Katara looked into the pouch. "Wow. There's barely any there."

"It was a desert cloud, okay? There wasn't much water in it! I'm doing everything I can!" Aang shouted. "What are you all doing? Well?"

"I feel like I might throw up," Sokka said miserably. Toph just took a step and almost tripped. Her head hung as miserably as Sokka's. Ty Lee moved beside Sokka, helping him stand.

"I'm trying to keep us alive," she said. Aang looked at Katara.

"I'm trying to keep us together," Katara answered, sadly. She pointed. "Come on. We need to go in this direction."

"Actually, that way," Ty Lee said, pointing slightly to Katara's left. Katara didn't even bother questioning it at this point. She was probably as dehydrated as the rest of them. If they died, she died. There was an odd solidarity in that. She walked, and the others walked with her. They moved in the darkness, each lost in their own thoughts. All Katara wanted was to see them all safe, out of this literal translation of Hell on Earth. She wanted to know everybody she cared about would live to see tomorrow. Everybody she cared for, and Ty Lee, too. She couldn't understand that girl. Was she a traitor? If so, to whom? Did she betray Aang by siding with Azula? Did she betray Azula by saving Aang here? Her thoughts were cut off when Toph let out a loud cry and slammed face first into the sand.

She let out a string of profanities in every language that Katara knew, and quite a few she didn't, while rubbing her stubbed foot. "Ow! Damn it! I'm so _sick_ of not being able to see where I'm going!" she rose, limping. "And what idiot would bury a boat in the middle of a desert?"

"A boat?" Katara asked.

"Wasn't shaped like any rock I've ever felt before," Toph muttered. Aang's hard expression didn't alter as he swung his staff in a wide arc, blasting away the sand. Everybody coughed and wheezed, except for Ty Lee. She really was prepared for the desert, it seemed. When the sand settled, a strange craft was sitting somewhat askew in the sand.

"That's one of those sail-thingies the sandbenders used!" Ty Lee exclaimed, the excitement plain in her voice.

"You could use this to sail right out of here," Katara said, smiling. It didn't take long to get the rig moving, with Aang providing the gale and Katara making sure it held to the proper course. Ty Lee stayed next to Sokka, who was now starting to look a bit more lively. The two of them got to talking about things which didn't seem to matter, but were so out of place here. Just a few hours ago, they were out of water and days away from any sort of safe haven. Now, they could cross the desert in hours. Eventually, the newcomer leaned over and looked at Sokka's rucksack, which was filled to bursting with scrolls and forgotten lore.

"What's that?" she said.

"This, oh, nothing," Sokka said. She gave him a look of disbelief. "Fine, its the stuff we took from the library."

Katara cleared her throat. He'd better not be revealing every secret they had to the enemy just because she was pretty. Sokka didn't seem to catch her drift, and pulled out the scrap of burnt paper from the Fire Nation section.

"I've been trying to figure this out for a while, and I just don't get it," Sokka said. Ty Lee's eyes widened. "I really need to learn how to read Huojian, I guess."

"That was your first mistake," Ty Lee said, suddenly sounding somewhat professional. The change was staggering. "This isn't Huojian. This is Hui, a language far older than modern Huojian," she peered at the paper. "Hmmm. 'On the darkest day of the Fire Nation, the city of Tian Shui was captured by...'" she shook her head.

"What happened on the darkest day?" Toph asked from where she was laying on the deck. "Did somebody die or something?"

"No, that's not how Hui works. It's an incredibly precise language. Every word has one meaning only," Ty Lee said, peering over the passage again. "If it said the 'grimmest' day, it could be that, but this says 'darkest'. That means the day was dark. I don't know what else to tell you."

"How do you know Hui if it's so old and obscure?" Katara asked.

"All of my friends took at least one really _useless_ course back at the Fire Academy," she said. "Mai took genetics, of all things, and I took ancient languages."

"What did Azula take?" Toph asked, snarkily.

"Hairdressing."

Sokka burst out laughing at that, startling Momo and making him scurry away.

* * *

"Your presence here at this time is most fortuitous, Grand Lotus Iroh," Chen said, waving to a pot of tea and a few cushions. Iroh took a seat gratefully. "There are worrisome rumors about in the world. The boy you travel with, Prince Zuko. Is it true what the rumors say about him?"

"Rumors are often rumors because they hold little basis in truth," Iroh said carefully. "It is a wise policy to believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see."

"I could not agree more. This Weary War is making people's minds soft and tongues loose," Chen poured a cup of tea. Iroh smelled it deeply. Jasmine. Lovely. "I wonder, then, why have you truly come to my table and invoked the rights of hospitality?"

"My nephew and I are not in a good state. He is restless and he needs a direction in life. Until recently, it was to capture the Avatar. Now, he cannot even do that," Iroh shook his head. "I fear that without proper guidance, he will succumb to his darkest instincts."

"It is a path often walked by your family," Chen said. "Your great grandfather switched between mania and melancholy on an almost daily basis. Your grandfather committed genocide. Your father was paranoid to the point of indolence in his elder years, and your brother..."

"Please, do not speak about my brother," Iroh said gently. "It is a sore subject."

"Very well, Grand Lotus. I had no intention to open old wounds," Chen set his cup of tea aside. "Then, perhaps what of your niece, Azula?"

"She is her father's daughter," Iroh said. He gave a significant glance. Chen understood it completely.

"And the Dark Prince?" Chen asked.

Iroh tugged idly at his thickening beard. "It would depend on who you asked," he said. "Some would say, he is his father's son as well."

Chen nodded. "What you've told me of his... involvement... in the events of the Moonless Night leads me to believe that," he said. "And I notice you still haven not answered my question. What does the Grand Lotus seek of this humble servitor?"

"Passports, and documentation. We seek to go to Ba Sing Se," Iroh said.

"Ba Sing Se is not a safe place for your people," Chen said. "Especially not since the Dragon of the West proved their walls not so invulnerable as they'd thought. The Dai Li are tireless."

"Then I will be sure not to give them any reason to suspect me," Iroh said with a smile.

"Is this regarding your visions?" Chen asked quietly. Iroh sighed, sipping from his tea.

"I saw a flash of blue in the darkness, a city of horrors under the water," he said. "I saw a temptation behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. I saw my nephew standing at the crossroads of destiny; if he chose wrong, then the world would fall to ashes. I don't know what this choice will be, or what Zuko will chose, but I can only hope and have faith that I have guided him to make the correct one."

"How I envy your clarity of sight," Chen said.

"Don't. It came with a heavy cost," he said. For just a moment, he remembered the carefree days he spent in the hills, playing pirates and privateers with Lu Ten. That unburdened laughter in the air...

Chen nodded, then turned to the doorman. "Ala, make the arrangements. I will not leave the Grand Lotus waiting."

"It is much appreciated," Iroh said. "Now, let us speak on other, kinder things."

* * *

The day was young, but already burning hot as the sand glider cut through seas of grit. Sokka finally stopped seeing weird things a few hours ago, and was glad. It was extremely embarrassing to dive for cover every time Aang looked at him because he thought the kid's arrows were going to impale him. Ty Lee was standing next to his sister at the tiller, squinting against the sun. Ty Lee pointed to the south.

"There's something over there," she said. "It looks like a wall."

"I thought you said this part of the desert was uninhabited?" Katara asked.

"We must be in a different part than I thought," Ty Lee said. She straightened up, and even mostly concealed, he could tell she brightened. "That could be the East Gate! People! Water!"

Ty Lee jumped for joy, and Katara altered her course. It wasn't long before the sand glider slowly came to a stop outside the walls. Toph bounced off and ran directly to the walls, rubbing up against them with a look of glee on her face. "Rock! Solid rock, oh, how I've missed you."

Sokka rolled his eyes. He grabbed the first pitcher of something he saw and tipped it back, only to have it swatted out of his hand by his sister. "Hey, I was..."

"You spend two days out of your mind on cactus juice, and you just drink the first thing you find in an unfamiliar city?" she asked.

"I have a natural curiosity," he answered evenly. People approached, clad in the pale, head-to-foot attire that made them look much like Ty Lee. She, of course, doffed her own robes, showing that she wasn't wearing very much underneath. He took a long moment to enjoy the view, before he remembered that they weren't out of Hell quite yet. The people stood between the Avatar's group at the gates, and the village of clay houses and seemingly permanent tents.

"What are you people doing here?" the leader asked. At least, Sokka thought he was the leader, because he stood at the front and he didn't wear the same funky clothes as everybody else. Katara stepped forward.

"We're trying to leave the desert," she said diplomatically. "We were stranded out there when bandits stole our means of transport and all of our provisions."

"Really? You talk of thievery?" the leaders said. "I am Sha-Mo, and you look more like thieves than you think."

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked, his voice rising. "We coasted in here, half dead from dehydration, with nothing to our names but some scrolls!"

"And a stolen sand sailer," Sha-Mo said. "From the looks of it, stolen from the Hahmi tribe to the northwest. Did your little 'trade' expedition go awry? Or do you frequently venture into the desert to take what isn't yours?"

That stung a little close to home. Katara shook her head. "We found the glider after our bison was stolen by sandbenders. We're just trying to get out of the desert."

"And we need to get to Ba Sing Se," Sokka added. Everybody turned to him. "You know, eventually."

"You dare accuse our people or people of theft as you ride in on a stolen sand sailer?" A younger voice next to Sha-Mo cut in. Toph got an extremely tense look on her face.

"Quiet Gashuin, this is an issue to be decided by elders."

"Gashuin," Toph said.

"I'm sorry Father," Gashuin uttered. Toph's face grew angry, and she stomped forward.

"That's the guy who attacked me!" she shouted.

"What madness is this?" Sha-Mo shouted. He turned and yammered in Akbiihu briefly, but Toph was shaking her head.

"I never forget a voice," she said. She cast out a finger at Gashuin. "That's the guy who stole Appa and tried to kidnap me in the desert."

"She lies, father," Gashuin said. Sokka was brusquely shoved aside. By Aang. He looked like he was about to explode.

"You stole Appa?" he asked, his voice a twitch away from rampage. Gashuin raised his hands. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

Gashuin turned to his father, imploring. "They're lying, father. They're the thieves!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Aang swung his staff down, and a ripple cut through the stone, until it reached the bottom of a building. The building exploded into chunks of clay and wood. "Where is my bison?" Aang roared, pointing the staff at the sandbenders. Sokka took a step away from him. When the people gathered didn't answer, he swung out his staff again, this time tearing apart the tents with a blast of air. Gashuin clutched his father's arm. Sha-Mo turned to him.

"What did you do?" he asked, his voice oddly calm.

"I didn't... It wasn't me!" Sha-Mo just stared at him. Sha-Mo pulled his arm away, and stepped back. Gashuin tried to move to his father again, but Sha-Mo did a bending movement, and the thin layer of sand bunched up around Gashuin's ankles, locking him in place. Toph stepped next to the enraged Avatar.

"You said to put a muzzle on him," Toph said darkly.

"You muzzled Appa?" Aang shouted. He cast out a hand, and a tent burned. Gashuin cowered.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar," he cried. Aang took a step forward, and when he did, his eyes and arrows began to glow with a searing white light. The wind began to tear across the city, blasting sand in every direction.

"Tell me where Appa is," Aang said. A thousand voices of a thousand Avatars spoke with him. Gashuin looked about ready to soil himself.

"We planned to trade him to a dealer in Ba Sing Se!" Gashuin said. "He's probably half way there by now."

Aang was gone. The happy, optimistic child who Sokka and Katara dug out of that iceburg was not in attendence. The monk standing there was an object of utter wrath. Sokka grabbed ahold of Toph and pulled her away. "We've got to get out of here!" he shouted, pulling her away from what was about to be the heart of destruction. He looked back. Katara stared up at him, that expression on her face again. That expression of such tragic sadness, of such hope and desire and want and need. She walked through the sandstorm that Aang made as he began to rise off of the ground. Before he was out of reach, she raised up her hand and grasped his. His glowing eyes snapped down at her. She just stared back, taking everything he was willing to throw at the world. She pulled him back down, and held him close. Sokka sighed, and walked toward Aang, pushing through that same wind. He wrapped his own arms around the grieving Avatar, the lonely friend. Loss was something they all shared.

After a few moments, another set of arms joined the circle, burnt and scarred. Toph tucked up, her eyes downcast, but holding just as tight as anybody else. The Avatar raged, but they held Aang. And Sokka, like everybody else, waited for the storm to pass.

* * *

Aang was floating in nowhere, his anger burning out of every pore of his being. But it wasn't just anger. He was also sad. Angry and sad and alone and he didn't know how to handle it. He just wanted to lash out, to break something. To break lots of somethings. He didn't care that it wasn't how he was raised. The last piece of his past, of his home in the Southern Air Temple, was gone. A figure appeared before him, wearing clothes much like his own. She nodded to him.

"What are you doing here?" Aang asked.

"Such disrespect to your forebearers," Yangchen said, flapping herself with a rigid fan. "You are in the Avatar State. It is more accurate to ask what _you_ are doing here."

"They stole everything I cared about," Aang shouted. "They took Appa away from me!"

"I had a sky bison in my youth," Yangchen said. "We grew up together. We were inseparable. Or at least, we were for a time. But I lived in a cruel age. Djose was struck down by waterbenders during what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission. I lost my temper, and I lost myself. You are losing yourself to your anger, Aang."

"So what? So what if I'm losing myself? There isn't much of me left!" Aang said. Yangchen looked to one side, then got a vexed expression.

"Where is that tiresome woman? She was supposed to be here by now," she muttered. A few seconds later, Kyoshi appeared. "Where were you?"

Kyoshi shrugged, nonchalant. "I was busy."

Yangchen scowled. "You're dead and he's the Avatar. What else could you possibly have to fill your time?"

"Various other distractions," Kyoshi said pointedly. She sat down on that nothing surface, in front of Aang. She still didn't need to look very far up. "Aang, I'm often accused of being blunt, so I won't beat around the bush. You're losing it."

"I don't care."

"Yes, you do," Kyoshi countered. "That's why you fought so hard to stay away from the Avatar State. But you can't. It's part of who you are. What you need to do is to focus on why you've become so angry."

Aang breathed a little faster. "Because I'm failing. I'm failing as an Avatar and I'm failing as an Air Nomad."

"You aren't a failure as an Air Nomad," Yangchen said. "Because you _aren't_ an Air Nomad."

Kyoshi palmed her brow. "Oh, here we go."

"In order to be the Avatar, certain spiritual needs must be sacrificed for the good of the world," Yangchen said. "Bodhisattva is impossible for our kind, because we are required _not_ to rise beyond the mortal kin of humanity. The Avatar must be human. He must hate, love, hunger and glut. Anything else defeats the purpose of what you are, and what you represent."

Aang slumped. "But why do I feel this way? Sometimes, I wish I could have... just done something else. Not did what I did. Took another path. Lived another life."

"You would walk down the path of what might have been?" Kyoshi asked. "Happiness seldom lives in that practice."

"Things could have been better," Aang said. Kyoshi, a small smile on her face, shook her head.

"Would you like to see a life you never lived? A possibility that never came to pass? The most likely of all other paths beyond the one you walk?" Kyoshi asked. She rose, and held out her arms. The world changed. Aang changed.

Aang looked at himself in the water. It wasn't his face which stared back. It was haggard, burned and scarred. He looked like he was probably two or three years older in body, but centuries older in soul. His body was covered in ropey muscle, and he wore clothing of rags and cast-offs. The arrow on his brow looked like it had been branded off. "What happened to me?" he asked, running fingers through long, matted black hair.

Then, he remembered. The night Gyatso came, he arrived a few minutes earlier. He spoke to Aang, telling him that even though Aang would be traveling to the Eastern Air Temple, he would never be alone. That Gyatso would still be the mentor and the friend he always was. And Aang went. So when the Purge began, Aang was not hiding. And Aang, unlike so many, fought back. The Air Nomads survived the Purge, because one airbender didn't care about his enemies more than he cared about his own people.

And Aang destroyed Sozin. Not in a blind rage that swept out over the seas. He was cold blooded and brutal, smashing down the gates of Sozin's home and ending his life like an assassin. But he didn't end the line. He went on Appa to the south pole, and broken spiritually, he waited to die. But he didn't. The Avatar State wouldn't let him. So he slept until he awakened in the modern day. Azulon's children, untouched by the fury of the Airbender, continued the war, as though Aang had never been. So Aang began the fight again.

But this time, in this world, he was alone. He was angry, and he drove people away. Katara was abandoned in the woods when she acted against him. Sokka was thrown out of the saddle when he _spoke_ against Aang. Haru was left to rot in prison. It was no problem of Aang's. Toph and Aang tried to kill each other at every opportunity. And this Aang that could have been looked up at the sky, at the red streak blazened in the heavens even in the light of day. And he knew failure's bitter embrace. He was the Avatar, and his rage doomed him. And this Aang that could have been, looked up and stared as fire began to roll down from the heavens.

"What was that?" Aang asked, in horror.

"That was the path you could have taken," Kyoshi said. "It was a life you would have lived. A life of anger and spite. Instead, you did the right thing, if for the wrong reasons. And look at what you've achieved."

"Almost nothing," Aang muttered.

"Almost everything," Yangchen said.

"You know that you have to give up the hate in your heart, Aang," Kyoshi said. "Otherwise, you would never have called out to me," she made a silencing gesture. "And yes, you did call out to me. Even if you didn't realize you were doing it at the time. There is a power in love, Aang, that can transcend all mortal agony. You need to accept that there is, in life, pain. But there is also joy. Find the joy, Aang. For the sake of the world and the sake of your soul, find the joy."

"I don't even know where to look anymore," Aang said. He was so tired.

"Yes, you do," Yangchen said quietly. She opened her arms, and another vision greeted Aang. This was the Avatar Aang, standing in the center of a sand-storm. And embracing him even in his rage, were his friends. His companions. His new family. A tear came to Aang's eye.

"They believe in you so strongly, that you are worth fighting for, that they will take whatever comes. Faith, Aang, is something that you must never give up," Yangchen said. Aang looked at her. It didn't sound like something bitter, jaded Yangchen would be espousing. "That was my failure as Avatar. I lost faith. In myself, and in humanity."

Aang nodded. "I think I understand," he said. Yangchen and Kyoshi both nodded, then darkness consumed this world between worlds.

* * *

Ty Lee watched as that light faded from the Avatar's eyes. He slumped against them, but when his eyes opened back up again, they were still damp from tears. He looked at each of the people embracing him. And the smile which slowly pulled onto his face spread quickly to hers. He leaned down, hugging the people around him tightly.

"Thank you," he said to them all. One by one, they broke off. As he walked away, Toph took a moment to punch his arm. He moved up to Ty Lee, and bowed to her. "And thank you, too. I'm sorry I was so unpleasant to you."

"You were sad and angry. I understand why," Ty Lee said.

"I felt betrayed. I lashed out, and you didn't deserve that, just as much as everybody else didn't. And for that, I apologize," he said. She smiled.

"It's good to see you calm again," she said. "You were so scary when you were angry."

Aang smiled, small, quiet. "I know."

Ty Lee nodded. She was about to turn away, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was pulled into an embrace by the young Avatar. She was surprised, but smiled, and joined quickly. Sokka got an askance look on his face.

"Wow, he's making _me_ look bad," Sokka said.

Ty Lee extricated herself. "Where will you go now?"

"Ba Sing Se," Aang said, his voice calm. There was still pain and loss in his eyes, but there was hope there, too. "I'll find Appa, somehow."

"Yeah, but Ba Sing Se is on the other side of Si Wong," Ty Lee said.

"Yeah, and I'm still waiting to pick _my_ vacation," Toph said.

Ty Lee thought for a moment. "You know, you might be able to get there quickly if you take a ship from Burning Rock. You won't need to go through Si Wang at all!"

Aang looked confused. "What's Burning Rock?"

Ty Lee was confused. Where had this boy been for the last century? Still, she beamed. "I can show you. Come on. I know the way."

* * *

Zuko came awake suddenly as the door opened. He dropped into a firebending stance immediately, but was noticed the door that opened was behind him, and led into the inner room, not the outer. Iroh was laughing easily as he went. "...And you should tell your great-granddaughter not to worry about her skin. She is young, and any blemishes will clear, especially living in this sort of climate," Iroh said. His opponent smiled, bowing low, before walking out of the shop. The sun had risen. Had he fallen asleep leaning against the wall?

"What is going on, Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"We're going to Ba Sing Se," Iroh said. Zuko frowned.

"Why would we want to go to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked. Iroh shrugged.

"I always wanted to visit," he said.

The two men walked across the length of the 'oasis', stopping at the edge. "I suppose you're not going to tell me your reasons for this insane plan?" Zuko shook his head slowly as he spoke. "Because I can think of few other places more dangerous to a pair of firebenders than the capitol of the Earth Kingdoms."

"It is also so formidable that even I couldn't get in," Iroh said, laughing. Some of the people looked at them, speaking as they were in Huojian, but many of these people probably spoke that desert language, anyway. "Can you think of any place that would be safer from Azula?"

"Don't tell me were running to Ba Sing Se to hide," Zuko said darkly.

"Then I won't tell you," Iroh said. "Trust me that I have my reasons."

Zuko sighed. Uncle had never steered him wrong before. Well, not _too_ wrong. But he thought of Mai, still out there somewhere. He stared across the desert. Maybe he could bring her there, to the safety of the City of Walls. Maybe it was time for him to start making plans of his own. He was deep in thought, his mind far and away when the sand sailer arrived, and they began their trip north across Si Wong, to the shores of Full Moon Bay


	10. Burning Rock I: Earth Rumble

**Yup. Zuko and Iroh are the ones going through the Serpent's Pass. How do you like that? The question of course being rhetorical. There's not much that can be done about it at this stage. The Gaang, on the other hand, are taking Toph's vacation in the only Fire Nation city on the East Continent, resting and recovering before striking out in search of Appa.**

**And, I swear to god, this isn't a Tokka work. Seriously. I can't say that enough. Despite what the words of the story say that contradicts me. Who are you going to believe? The author, or the story?**

**...Don't answer that.**

* * *

Zuko looked up as he and his uncle moved through the box canyon. "Why are we coming this way, again?" he asked. Iroh smiled lightly, as he often did these days.

"Ever since Full Moon Ferry was burned to the ground, there are few ways to safely get to Ba Sing Se from the south. The one which remains is a path which cuts across Full Moon Bay, right down the middle."

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" Zuko asked.

"They call it the Serpent's Pass," Iroh said.

"Because it bends like a snake?" Zuko said.

"Sure, why not?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. Ahead, he could hear voices. His hand went to his swords, which rode on his back. Iroh rolled his eyes, but Zuko knew that it was only paranoia if you weren't right. He peaked over the stones, into the next stretch of the canyon. A field of tents stretched around the bend, and a huge array of poor, tired people moved around listlessly.

"What is this?" Zuko asked.

"It is the camp," a voice came from above him. Zuko glanced up. There was a man, probably no older than Zuko, sitting on the stone. He wore what looked like a hodge-podge armor, his hair was shaggy and wild. He chewed on a stem of wheat. "It's where all the people gather before they move through the Pass in small, manageable groups."

Zuko frowned, leaning against his own piece of stone. "There's a lot of them."

"There's a _lot _of refugees," the stranger said. He hopped down to Zuko's level. He had a pair of hook swords on his back. "I'm Jet. These are my freedom fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot."

Zuko gave a start as the two people Jet indicated seemed to appear out of nowhere. One was short, wearing a leather breastplate and heavy makeup. The other was an unassuming fellow with large ears, dark eyes, and a tattered conical hat, carrying a bow. Zuko composed himself and gave them a nod. Jet pointed to the camp again. "What do you see?"

"A lot of poor people," Zuko said, moving down toward his uncle, who was already walking into the camp. Jet shook his head.

"Look a bit closer," he said, pointing to one side. Zuko looked, and saw a large man spooning out jook to a family. He ladled out one scoop, and then pushed them aside, even though there were three, with three bowls. Zuko scowled. He looked over, and saw another person in what looked to be a local uniform rifling through somebody's bag while another complained to a man with a spear.

"Corruption," Zuko said simply.

"Exactly," Jet said. "This War is bringing out the worst in everybody. These people don't need to get robbed by the people they think are trying to help them. It's not right and it's not fair."

"Life is seldom fair," Zuko said. Jet shot him a glance, rolling the sprig of wheat away.

"That's why there's people like us in the world," Jet said. He leaned in a moment, holding Zuko to a stop. "I saw that scar. You were burned by some Fire Nation soldier, weren't you? Well, we've all lost something to the Weary War. Longshot and Smellerbee lost their entire families to the Fire Nation."

"Damn right I did," Smellerbee said. The voice was strangely high. Was Smellerbee a woman? If she was, she was an odd looking one. Longshot just nodded, a distant look in his eyes.

"So," Jet said. "What did you lose?"

"What do you want from me?" Zuko asked, curtly. Jet let go, holding his hands back.

"Nothing. Not yet, anyway. Just have a look around. I figure you'll be looking for me by tonight. Don't worry. I think you'll more than welcome what I've got in mind," he said, his cronies walking away with him. Iroh walked up to him, a strange, flowered hat now sitting on his head.

"Are you making new friends already?" he asked innocently. Zuko just stared at him.

"Where did you get the money for that hat?" Zuko asked.

* * *

Aang stared around in wonder. "What is this place?" he asked. Ty Lee had changed back into the clothes she'd worn in Omashu, while the others had to find something else to wear. Aang himself was wearing something which looked like a school uniform, with a broad hat. He looked around the city, all cut into the stone, but clad in metal and painted a myriad of reds, blues, and greens. Ty Lee beamed.

"This is Burning Rock," she said. "The easternmost city in the Fire Nation."

"Yeah, because you conquered it," Katara muttered.

"No, we liberated it," Ty Lee said.

"You say potato, I say white crunch tuber," Sokka said. Ty Lee frowned. It was a weird look on her. She was almost comically annoyed.

She squared her shoulders. "It was founded by the Fire Nation seven hundred years ago. But a hundred years later, it was conquered by Earth King Shen. Then, for the next couple of centuries, it was owned, under varying names, either by various local kings, Great Whales, and for a few years, even the Northern Water Tribe ruled here. Then, ninety years ago, Sozin's son Azulon brought Burning Rock back to its founding nation," she said.

"This place seems like it takes a bit of just about every culture," Aang said. Top-knots and red clothes mingled with tie-backs and greens. Hanboks and yukatas and kimonos, all with dizzying array and variation.

"There is. This is the only place in the world where brother and sister can be earthbender and firebender," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Toph said. "Terribly interesting. So, can we get some place to put my feet up? I haven't picked between my toes in days. It's been driving me nuts!"

"That looks like a nice place to have dinner," Katara said. She looked in her pockets, frowning. "If we had any money to spend, that is..."

"I can cover it," both Ty Lee and Toph said simultaneously. Both turned to each other. "What?" both said in unison. Aang was just pleased to have a meal which didn't come from a bush. Toph and Ty Lee argued over who was buying dinner, an unusual state for Aang. Usually, it was everybody digging to see if there was enough money amongst them for anything.

Aang was already eating his beans and greens when the earthbender and the acrobat hammered out a schedule of who was going to pay for what, when. Apparently, this was kind of a big thing for Toph. She didn't like other people paying for something of hers. Aang made sure to remember that for when Toph's birthday came around. Aang watched the city go about its business from the table outside the eatery. It was a very pleasant place, in its way. Despite the fact that it was a Fire Nation city situated in the Earth Kingdoms, everybody just sort of got along. There wasn't any tension that Aang could see. Just people living their lives. It brought a smile to Aang's face.

A man walking by leaned in close to Aang. "Like earthbending?" he whispered.

"Who doesn't?" Aang answered around beans. The man quickly handed Aang a pamphlet.

"You might want to see this, then. Big money for an earthbender, if you've got the stones," he said, then he walked away.

Katara leaned over. "What is it, Aang?"

Aang shrugged. "Something called Earth Rumble VI. Who is Vi, and why is he having an earth rumble?"

"VI is six," Ty Lee said, eating her own salad. Everybody turned to her. "We use different numbers."

Katara's eyes widened. "_You know, Toph's been pretty down since Si Wong. Maybe something like this would lift her spirit?_"

Aang nodded. "_That's a good idea, Katara,_" he turned to Toph, who was walking by eating jerky. "Hey, Toph, would you like to..."

"Kick ass in an underground tournament against the best earthbenders that congregate to this city?" Toph said, snatching the pamphlet, crumpling it up, and throwing it over her shoulder... right into Ty Lee's dinner. "Let's face it, I'm not feeling up for competition right now."

"But your hands are finally healed," Katara pointed out.

"And didn't you say you were going to show the world how 'badass' you were?" Sokka asked.

Toph started to smile, blushing slightly. "Yeah, you're right. I have been letting my _awesome_ quota slip a bit, haven't I?"

"Oh! This is going to be so much fun!" Ty Lee said, almost shaking with excitement in her seat. "I wonder if we can show up early and get good seats?"

Toph looked at Ty Lee, then to Katara. "You know, you're dangerously close to losing 'Sugarqueen' to her," Aang laughed at that. Toph pointed at him. "Don't laugh, buddy. You're on thin ice with 'Twinkletoes', yourself."

Aang finished his lunch as the others talked of happier things. The desert had been a transformative experience for him. He went in, seething with anger, a hate in his heart boiling close to the surface. Now, he knew that it was probably still there, but he held it, not with a white-knuckle grip, but an easy stance. It was like holding a sword. Too tightly, and it would easily be torn away. A loose but sure grip, though, and it would always be under his control. It felt good to be in control again, even if he still did miss his lifelong friend. A server came by to clear the table, and Aang gave a salute to her, strangely enough, also called the Burning Rock. "_Flamey-o, Hotman,_" he said.

"What was that?" Ty Lee asked, laughing.

"I was thanking her," Aang said, confused.

"Flamey-o?" she asked. "Hotman?"

"What?"

"We should probably get to finding this 'Earth Rumble'," Katara said, smiling and ignoring the verbal trade. Sokka and Toph began trading 'hotman's amongst themselves, laughing more and more each time, until Katara told them both to can it. It would probably take a little bit of doing to find a quite literally underground earthbending fighting tournament in what was nominally a Fire Nation town. But luckily, Aang had just the person to find it.

* * *

Zuko watched. The people in the camp went about their lives, stuck in limbo. They wanted to go on, but they couldn't. Because they didn't have the strength, the courage, the money; the reasons were as varied and plentiful as stars in the sky. He stopped beside a brook, leaning down to splash some water on his face, to wipe away days of grit and sand. He looked over. Other people apparently got the same idea.

Three close to him were dressed in green hanboks. One of them was very heavily pregnant. They saw him looking at them, and one of them raised a hand. "Hello! You are traveling to Ba Sing Se?" he asked.

"A lot of people are," Zuko said, noncommittally.

"I'm Taan, and this is my wife Ying, and her sister Yu," he said, introducing the two ladies traveling with him. He moved closer, Zuko just stared at him. "You look like you've come a long way."

"Long," Zuko said.

"Tell me... Have you paid your pass fee, yet?" Taan asked.

"Pass fee?" Zuko asked. That didn't make sense. The passage was free.

"When we got here, the guards said that if we wanted to pass through the Serpent's Pass, we would have to pay the fee. We gave them everything we had, but we still can't get through," Taan said. He kneaded his hands with worry. "I'm beginning to think they've forgotten about us."

"Let's hope they haven't," Zuko said, turning away. Extortion. He knew it no matter where it went. He saw similar activities all over the camp. Food sent to feed the families and refugees was being horded, and the dross being ladled out. Families were being shaken down for every cent they had. An anger burned in Zuko.

"You've got that look on your face," Jet said, suddenly standing beside him. Zuko just gave him a glance. "You see what these people are suffering under with these incompetent goons 'guarding' them. And that's not including the ones who are stealing from them."

"Who's going to do something about it?" Zuko asked. He already guessed the answer. Jet smirked, rolling the sprig of wheat – probably a new one – in his teeth.

"That depends. Are you up for a little fun after the sun goes down?" Zuko stopped, staring at the young man. Did Jet have any idea how what he had just said sounded?

"Depends on what you mean by fun," Zuko said, carefully. Jet smirked.

"Meet us where you saw me first. And make sure you bring your swords. Just in case," he said. And in a flash, he vanished back into the crowds. In a way, Zuko was actually relieved that Jet was intending violence. The possible alternative had made him more than a bit uncomfortable.

* * *

Toph was a miracle worker. She found the arena in minutes, even though the path to it would probably have taken hours to locate if she hadn't cut out the middleman and just made her own lift down. Ty Lee was impressed. Of course, she could tell from looking at Toph's aura that the little earthbender was still uncertain. In herself, and in her abilities. She marched up to the registration table and pounded on the wood. An administrator looked down, probably seeing a little blind girl with a few other people standing well behind her.

"The admission area is up at the front," he said, leaning back. "Unless you got lost, then you might want to ask one of the people behind you to bring you back to your mommy and daddy."

Toph scowled, then stomped on the ground. The administrator was tossed out of his chair. Toph clambered up over the wooden table, and stared down at him. "I'm here to fight," she said. The man gaped for a moment, then shook his head.

"That's a neat trick, but you should probably leave the earthbending to people who can see what they're doing," he said. Toph scowled a bit harder, and stomped again. This time, the man sank into the ground, until only his head was sticking up out of the floor. Toph hopped down on the other side of the desk, as Ty Lee moved a bit closer. Toph had a foot pressed against the man's head.

"I'm. Here. To. Fight," Toph said deliberately. "Now put me on the roster, or people will find you a thousand years from now during an archaeological dig."

"Fine! Fine! I'll put you on the roster," he shouted. She smirked, and made a short gesture. He popped back up most of the way, and she dragged him by his hair out of the hole. He flopped to the floor. He grabbed a form and pointed it at her. "You're going to have to sign this."

"Excuse me?" Toph asked. Ty Lee was confused.

"It's a personal injury waiver. If you get killed, your parents can't swear a blood feud against the Earth Rumble organization or any of its members."

"And how would I sign it?" Toph asked, her tones very even.

"She's blind," Ty Lee said. The man shuddered, then shrugged, handing it toward Ty Lee. Ty Lee handed it to Aang, who handed it to Sokka. He pulled out a weird tube thing and did some scribbling, before handing it back, following the exact same path.

"Well, the spirits have mercy on you, little blind masochist," he said. Toph gave him a hard stare, but then hopped back over the desk and went into the locker room. There wasn't a door, but for Toph, that didn't matter. She made one. The others followed after her.

"Now, this is my kind of place," Toph said. It reeked of sweat and alcohol, with some blood mixed into it. Large, sweaty men practiced their earthbending forms all over the place. Some of them were large and burly. Others, just morbidly obese. Toph moved through the room, looking at the men who would be her competition. One, though, stood perfectly still as Toph moved through the room. She almost bumped into him, except Katara stopped her. She looked up. "Well, aren't you a quiet one?"

"The Boulder doesn't sign autographs for fans," he said, his voice almost embarrassingly macho.

"Please, like I'd want an autograph from you," Toph said. Luckily, she couldn't see that Sokka was holding a scrap of paper and his weird brush-thing, a wide grin on his face.

"The Boulder is busy preparing for the tournament. You'd best walk away, and let the Boulder practice."

"Yeah, practice all you want, the Pebble," Toph said, smirking. He scowled down at her, then he assumed a stance, but it was quite unlike any of the others in the room. It was low, but whereas theirs were brutish, his were almost careful, despite his bulky build. He shifted his foot just a touch, then snapped out with a tiny gesture, and a column of stone snapped up from the floor, knocking a fat earthbender to the ground.

"Hey! Save it for the arena, Boulder!" somebody said nearby. Aang stared in shock at him. Toph did too, and she dragged them away from him.

"Who was that?" Aang asked. "He fought like you!"

"You think I didn't notice that?" Toph whispered loudly. "I've heard of that guy. He calls his form 'Mantis', and he's the unbeaten champion."

"Toph, you don't need to do this if you don't want to," Katara said, but Toph got a smile on her face.

"Oh, I'm doin' it," she said. "And I'm going to destroy him so completely he'll never recover from it."

"Alright. You four, out of the locker room," the official said. "No civilians back stage when the competition has started. Get up to the arena, kids."

"Who are you calling a kid?" Sokka asked, but he was already being dragged away by his sister and Aang. They all went around the 'arena' and came in the proper direction. The stands were packed to the rafters, but the first few rows were completely clear. Sokka brightened when he saw this. "Hey! Front row seats. I wonder why nobody else wants them?"

Ty Lee pointed at the boulders embedded in the lower rows. He shrugged, and sat himself down, front row, center. The rules were simple: Toss the other guy out without physically touching him. The fights were short, at first. Locals and no-talents getting picked off by the more experienced, more skilled benders who either had military training, or else just competed regularly. Finally, Toph's first match came up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, returning from his strong showing at Gaoling," the announcer, standing at the center of the ring said, "Weighing an impressive four dan, hailing from Omashu, I give you, the Big, Bad, Hippo!"

The morbidly obese earthbender from the locker room stomped onto the rectangular arena. He did look distinctly like a cowppopotamus. The announcer continued. "And his opponent, hailing from parts unknown, weighing... really? Eighty-five jin? Ahem. Introducing, Toph Bei – whoa!"

The announcer was cut off as Toph entered the stage, because she made a gesture, and the announcer slid across the entire stage, stopping next to her. She stomped, and he lowered to her level. She whispered something into his ear, then sent him tearing back to the arena centerline and popped him back up. He looked understandably shaken up over the whole business.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. "Introducing, the Blind Bandit!"

Toph smirked, unwinding the bandages around her hands and fingers. "You might be big, but you ain't bad," she said loudly. "I'm going to toss you so hard you leave a crater."

The Hippo stared at her, then stomped forward once. "Hippo, mad!" he said, then bit a rock apart for no readily apparent reason. Toph took up her stance. The Hippo tore out a chunk of the arena and threw it at her. She stepped out of the way, lightly. The people began to boo and catcall.

"Is this just going to be burly people throwing rocks at Toph?" Katara asked.

"That's what I paid for," Sokka said.

"You didn't pay for anything today," Katara pointed out.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Toph said loudly.

"Hippo crush little girl!" Hippo shouted.

"Do they all refer to themselves in the third person?" Ty Lee asked.

The Hippo began to jump into the air, pounding the ground with his feet. The whole surface of the arena began to sway to and fro, but Toph just matched her balance to the sway. The announcer, not so lucky, fell off of the arena. The people began to cheer again, thinking they were going to see a ring-out any moment. Even from this distance, Ty Lee could see the smile appear on Toph's face.

The girl twisted her arms, and the shift of the arena actually became more extreme. She kicked her foot forward, and a ripple moved along the ground. When the Hippo came down from a jump, it was onto her earthbending, so he slid rather than land. Then, she made a punching gesture, and the stone slammed up out of the floor, throwing the Hippo through the air and into the ditch surrounding them. She twisted her arms back, and the arena became level again. There was silence in the arena.

"Yeah!" Sokka shouted into the silence. "Toph knows how to put the hurt in the dirt!"

Ty Lee couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Toph sat back, her feet up, and picked her nose. Her feet had already had their sanitation picking; anything more would be akin to masturbation. She turned when she heard somebody walking toward her, quite unlike the others who were now giving her a wide berth in the locker room.

"You performed quite admirably out there, miss Blind Bandit," A voice said in the darkness which was her blindness. She flicked her snot away. "Quite impressive."

"What can I say?" Toph said. "I'm an impressive person."

"I am Xin Fu. I run Earth Rumble, and I know an impressive talent when I see one," Xin Fu said. Toph shrugged. "Tell me, this character. How do you pull it off?"

"Pull what off?" Toph asked. "I'm blind."

There was a long silence. "So you're going to be like that, are you?" he sighed. "Fine. I just want you to know, a character like yours could go a long way in this business. People are always looking for the upset, and you've pulled one off. I think they'd like the idea that a blind girl could slaughter her way to the top."

"Good, because that's exactly what I'm going to do," Toph said.

"I can make that happen," Xin Fu said. "Next tournament, your name will be catapulted to the top. The Blind Bandit, Champion of Earth Rumble Seven!"

"But this is Earth Rumble Six," Toph said. "I've got no intention of losing this one."

There was another pause. "Trust me, you're not going to win this one."

"That's your opinion," Toph stood, smacking a small amount of the dust off of her. "Look, I know what you've got in mind. I've seen your type before. You're asking me to put in a good showing, then flop at the top, and then you put a bunch of scrubs up against me in the next tourney. Let me be perfectly clear; I ain't interested. I'm going to win. I'm going to prove I'm the best earthbender in the world. And I don't need your help."

"You're making a mistake, Bandit," Xin Fu said. "I can make it possible for you to be a champion. I can also make it possible for you to vanish from competitive earthbending forever."

Toph smiled. She felt good. She felt better than good. She was winning, no tricks, no cheating. Her earthbending was just _better_. She turned to Xin Fu. "You can try."

* * *

In the darkness, a shadow moved. The spirit with the green and red face slipped through the rocks high in the canyon. Below, the many slept, cold and afraid. Exploited. They slept, he didn't. He had to correct an injustice. The spirit moved through the stones, to where the guards walked in tight circles, eyes everywhere but where they needed to be. The people depended on them for protection, but their eyes were turned inward as much as out. They had something they didn't want to get away.

The spirit moved in the night, ever closer. Ever patient. It was a matter of cun and seconds. Either would spell the difference between success, or death. Perhaps not his, but somebody's. There, a gap in their patrols. A spirit moved in the darkness, and then there was nothing.

In the tent of the leader, a large earthbender named Gow, the spirit moved. His feet were silent and precise. They needed to be. Gow wasn't here, but his men surrounded the tent, and would notice if something cracked or fell or shattered. The spirit knew that it had to be here, but where exactly? He could not say. He looked under bedding, under the desks. The last option, one he hoped was not the case, was the large chest in plain sight of the flaps. Every few seconds, somebody walked by. The spirit waited.

After minutes, maybe hours, the time was right. The spirit moved in the darkness, his hands reaching forward as one of the guards walked by. A series of brutal punches to the face and chest. Neck to silence him. Diaphram to disrupt breathing. Face, face, face, face, to put him into unconsciousness. It was all that the spirit needed. He put looked through the guard's pockets, looking for the keys. No luck.

The spirit paused. Somebody was standing behind him. The spirit's swords came out, a pair of twin dao, as he twirled away. A pair of hook swords was arrayed against him. The spirit hesitated. This was not expected. Jet smirked, rolling the sprig of wheat in his teeth. "I thought you'd be here," he said quietly. He looked out of the flap, and nodded inward. Smellerbee entered, and made a straight path for the chest. She pulled picks from her belt and had the chest open in a few seconds. She nodded to Jet.

"Come on," Jet said. "We're going to need a few extra hands for this."

Zuko tipped up his green and red oni mask, staring at Jet. "You seem to trust very easily."

"Trust is something earned. You're earning it. Now come on," he said. Zuko let the mask slide down, and the three dug into the chest, liberating a glut of stolen copper and silver coins. There was a flicker of shadow in the darkness, then, but for the unconscious, groaning figure of the guard, the tent was empty.

* * *

Sokka wasn't sure where Ty Lee got her large card, which displayed a sketch of Toph, with the slogan "Blind Bandit #1", but he definitely applauded her zeal. How something like that could _already_ exist was frickin' hilarious. Eight fights, and she was earning thunderous accolades from the crowd. With the normal announcer out with a concussion, his replacement stepped into the arena. "Alright. If you don't know her by now, you must be as blind as she is." Xin Fu said loudly. "The Blind Bandit!"

Toph strutted into the arena, her scarred arms raised above her. But Xin Fu went on. "And her opponent. A local, a powerful earthbender from right here in Burning Rock. Former champion; Fire Nation Mung!" The man moved into the ring, in resplendant reds, a red standard in his hands. The people cheered just as much as they did for Toph. All of the except for Sokka himself, of course.

"Booooo! Go back to the Fire Nation!" he screamed. Ty Lee turned to him, lowering her painted board a bit.

"Umm, Sokka? This _is_ the Fire Nation."

"Right, well... uh..." Sokka said. She just stared at him. What he would give for a distraction right about now. His prayers were answered when Mung was hurled out of the arena and was embedded into the stands next to Sokka. He turned. That was quick. Ty Lee looked around him, to Mung.

"That was just embarrassing," she said. Sokka heard a sharp whistle. Toph was its source. She thrust a bridge out of the arena, ending in front of Sokka. She waved him toward her.

"Get over here, Loverboy," Toph shouted. The crowd hooted and hollered, and Sokka went bright red. He slinked onto the arena floor, almost apoplectic from embarrassment. Toph smirked, and made a gesture which caused him to slide rapidly toward her, and she caught him like he was a lady dancer. "I need your help with something."

She pounded again, and this time, the two of them slid back through the walls and into the locker room. When there, Toph brusquely let Sokka fall to the floor.

"What in the Hell was that?" Sokka shouted, very glad she couldn't see his complexion.

"Ah, I was just messing with ya'," she said. She sat on a bench, kneading her fists, and breathing steadily. "I've got a problem, Sokka."

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"I don't see well enough," she said. Sokka stared at her. "I know where people are, and I can tell what they're feeling, but I've got no idea what people actually _look_ like."

"I guess that's a problem with being blind," Sokka said.

"The Boulder is a twit, but he fights the way I do. Small motions, indicated only by body language. I can't see body language. I should. I know it should be possible. I just don't know what a man's body is supposed to look like."

"That could be a problem, what with the blindness," Sokka admitted.

"And that's where you come in," she said. He stared at her.

"How?"

"You're a man. Or the closest thing that I have access to. Just stand there, and let me 'see' you," she said. She moved toward him, raising his arm out to his side. She began to run her rough, callused hands along his, then down his arm. "And just remember that this doesn't mean _anything_. And if you tell _anybody_ about this, I'll kick your ass."

"O...kay?" Sokka said. She moved along his arm, then up to his face. Her blind eyes were wide in front of him. She was cute, in her way, but he couldn't help feeling like he was being weighed for the slaughter like a pig bull. And besides, she was way too young for him. She went down his face, and began to move down one side, feeling the muscles in his chest and back, his ribs, down to his abdomen. "I think that's far enough..."

"What, you don't have legs?" Toph asked. She reached a little lower, and Sokka jumped into the air. "What's that?"

"Something you shouldn't be holding," Sokka said, his voice a little higher than usual. She shrugged, and moved on. He was grateful. So were his potential sons and daughters. She knelt in front of him, roughly feeling the way the muscles in his legs slid over each other, going down, down, down to his feet. She paused, stepping back.

"Alright. Do something," she said, closing her eyes. He frowned, and shrugged. She mimicked him. He put his hands on his hips. She did likewise. He scratched his invisible beard for a moment, then went into a theatrical flourish. She did the same, both beard and flourish.

"You're doing it!" Sokka said.

"I am?" she said. "It's that easy?"

"Did you expect it to be hard?" Sokka asked. "Although, you did miss my expression."

Toph smirked, then pressed her hand hard into Sokka's face and pushed him over onto his back. She laughed. "Faces don't move enough. But I think I've got what I need."

"That's nice," Xin Fu's voice came from the back entrance of the locker room. Sokka turned and saw the toned, long-haired earthbender stride closer. A bevy of other colorful characters were arrayed behind him. "It won't do you any good, though. I've got too much riding on The Boulder in this tournament."

Toph smiled. "I'm surprised he isn't here with you."

"Oh, he doesn't know about this back room business," Xin Fu said. "It might sully his image. Suffice it to say that the Blind Bandit will not attend the finals match, and forfeit mysteriously to the standing champion."

"Should I go get Aang?" Sokka asked.

"Do it and die," Both Toph and Xin Fu said at once. Toph turned to Sokka, and grinned. She stomped, and kicked her foot, and the wall of the locker room surged. It ruptured the wall around it, vomiting _everybody_ onto the arena floor. Sokka hit the ground and rolled, almost to the edge of the drop, only saved by Toph raising a ledge before he splattered himself. She turned to him. "Sit back and enjoy the show, Loverboy."

* * *

Toph took her stance. While the crowd clamored and shouted, some with fear and others with excitement, there was a pool of calm around Toph which she didn't expect. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't nervous, even. She felt Xin Fu and his lackies picking themselves up off of the ground, shaking their heads and getting their bearings. She didn't know why she _couldn't_ see them this way before. Until now, it was just a heartbeat and a footprint. Now, she could _see_ them.

She felt Aang standing in the seats, but she pointed at him. "Don't even think about it, Twinkletoes, these ones're mine," she said. And she meant it.

There was no doubt. She knew her earthbending wouldn't fail her. There was no fear. She'd already beaten everybody here. There was no confusion. There was only Toph. And Toph began to smile. Mung was the first one to run at her, trying to avenge his embarrassingly fast loss, no doubt. She waited, gauging his footsteps. Then, when he was lifting off from one foot, she snapped her hands up. The tremor sped along the arena. She pulled her arms to the side. When he tried to take another step, the stone shot up, sending him spinning in backflips into the air. A second wave of stone smashed him into the stands.

"Stick around, spectators," Toph shouted. "Watch as the Blind Bandit cleans house!"

The Badgermole was next. He was a pale imitation of her true teachers, a tunneler in the ground. She didn't even wait for him to show himself, dropping into a stance, and flowing with a low kick. The earth spat him out violently, and he flew straight into Mung. The Hippo, obviously not learning from his past mistakes, hurled a stone at her. She was astounded as it flew. She could still _feel_ that stone, even though it wasn't connected to the earth any more. Her smile erupted into an all-out grin. She let it fly past, then hurled it back, kicking back a block of stone the size of the Hippo himself to chase it. They all burst over the Hippo, but it was just a distraction. She pivoted and wrenched, and a huge chunk of the arena catapulted the morbidly obese fighter into the pile of semi-conscious earthbenders that grew quickly in the stands.

"Is that all you've got?" she shouted. She felt the Gecko surge down from the roof, only because he was idiotic enough to do it with a pair of stones in his hands. He hurled them at her as he landed. She reached out, grabbing both, and crushed them into sand. She pistoned her arms out, and then flared, and an eruption of stone blasted him into the 'discard pile'. Mister Banzai was next, stomping a wave of stone at her as he charged. If Toph wasn't blind, she might have been fooled, but she saw the trick he was trying to pull on her. If she stomped the wave down, he was going to use her movement against her and trap her in the floor. So she didn't oblige him.

She leapt forward with an axe kick, a chunk of the floor sticking to here bare sole. She cleared the wave and smashed the stone down on Banzai's head, driving it into the floor. She gestured brusquely away, and he was added to the pile of has-beens and never-weres. Two others, one calling himself the Blue Spirit, the other the Butcher, looked toward her, turned toward the back of the arena, and then did probably the smartest thing in their entire lives, and made a break for it. Xin Fu didn't seem very happy with her, right now. She leaned over and spat on his floor.

"Come over here and I'll slap that smile off your face," Toph said.

"I'm not smiling," Xin Fu answered. He took a step forward, and began to drop into a deep stance. She knew her opportunity, and took it. She gave a tiny, shifting kick, and the stone rippled as it sped toward him. By the time his foot came down to enter his horse stance, the wave reached him, and spun his leg around and wide, dropping him into a painful splits on the stone. He let out a strangled yelp of pain. She did the merciful thing and smashed him aside with three fingers of stone. He landed amongst all of his other no-talents. Toph turned and faced the 'champion's booth'.

"Heeeeey Booooulder!" Toph shouted. "Come out and Plaaaaaaay!"

She sauntered to the center of the arena as the bridge began to form, one footfall at a time. The Boulder walked out, the stone leaping up to meet his gait, then falling back down when he was finished, and he took a look at the arena. He unbuckled something Toph couldn't see, and passed it to a ring-lady as he entered the fighting floor. He crossed his arms.

"The Boulder feels conflicted fighting a small blind girl who was just ambushed by most of the entire roster," The Boulder said.

"Sounds like you're scared," Toph said loudly. "And I don't blame you. I'm much more badass than you. But you know, maybe the audience _would_ like to see two little girls fighting."

There was a moment of silence. A hush fell over the crowd. The Boulder uncrossed his arms. "The Boulder is over his conflicted nature, and now is going to bury this Blind Bandit, in a _Rockalanche_!"

The crowd erupted, but Toph wasn't listening to them. He moved into a stance very similar to her own, and he waited. She smirked. Letting her take the initiative? That was usually her trick. She held her hands out to the sides, and pulled. The stone began to tremble under her feet, and just as it was ready to burst forth of its own volition, she channeled its anger forward, sending a rock wave the likes of which Mister Banzai couldn't manage in his wettest dreams. She smirked, but the smirk died when he made the most minute of movements, then thrust into the strongest part of the wave. The wave turned back, rippling over the floor like – as her mother would say – a droplet of water in a still pond. She pulled the stone up into a wedge, which the waves crashed against.

She didn't expect an honest fight. She punched out, and part of her wedge slashed across the floor. The Boulder twisted, catching the slice and hurling it back at her. She stopped it by punching it out of the air, crumbling it to dust. So that was the way this was going to play, was it? She reached high, then surged down, doing what nobody expected. She didn't attack up from the ground. She attacked down from the ceiling. The Boulder saw it coming, and moved to counter, but she was fast. He looked up, preparing to catch and redirect her attack. He stopped the stone from crushing him, but when he looked for his target, she was standing almost right in front of him. And she was grinning. A punch, to move the rock. The most basic of earthbending techniques. The Boulder's hands, trapped inside the prison she'd prepared, couldn't let go, and he flew out of the arena. The crowd went silent. She turned, and walked to the center, the triumphant grin still on her face. She raised her fists in victory. And then, there was pandemonium.

* * *

Katara couldn't stop smiling as Toph strutted her way out of the arena, the green and gold championship belt slung over her shoulder. Aang looked every bit a proud father. Sokka was just almost passed out from excitement. Ty Lee had already run off, though, stating that she thought she recognized somebody in the stands.

"That was amazing, Toph," Katara said.

"Yeah, I was, wasn't I?" Toph said, patting her belt. "I've gotta say, you have a lot of saccharine, hopelessly idealistic and borderline idiotic ideas sometimes..."

"Gee, thanks," Katara muttered.

"But this? This was a good one," Toph said, slugging Katara in the arm.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Just shut up and like it, Sugarqueen," Toph said happily.

* * *

Gahj Muul couldn't have been happier with himself. He'd picked out her destination as cleanly could be. He turned to the man sitting next to him.

"Do you see who I'm talking about?" Muul asked. The man just stared, his eyes extremely intense.

"I didn't think she'd be stupid enough to actually go by the name 'the Blind Bandit'," Muul said, "but it just made it that much easier to find her. And that's were you come in."

The man sitting next to him turned, staring at Muul with dark eyes. A third, tattooed and flaming in the middle of his forehead, also stared. "If we work together, we can bring her down. We split the bounty, fifty/fifty," Muul said.

The man rose from his seat, an expression finally appearing on his face. Disdain. Muul scowled. "Very well. Sixty/fourty. I admit, this girl has become something of an obsession for me. I will stop her. And I will collect that bounty. She's wanted dead or alive."

The man stopped, staring, and took a deep breath. Muul grabbed his arm. The man paused, looking down at the hand which dared to grasp his bicep. "Not here. We wouldn't get out alive if the earthbenders here brought down the roof on us, and they would, if they thought we were terrorists. Outside. I have faith that your... abilities... are beyond their capacity to endure."

The man pulled his arm out of Muul's grasp, and huffed, letting the air out of his lungs. He walked away, his iron foot clanking against the stone stands up in the highest seats as he went. Muul smiled. By this time tomorrow, the Blind Bandit would be dead.

* * *

Zuko moved aside the flap of the tent in the early morning. Ying sat up, rubbing her belly, a look of alarm on her face. Zuko made a shushing motion, and nodded outside. After a few moments, the heavily pregnant woman joined him outside. "What are you doing here, Lee?" she asked. That was the name Iroh used to introduce him. It had already gotten around the camp, it seemed.

"There is no passage fee," Zuko said quietly. "The men were just extorting the people before they sent them across."

Ying held her hands to her mouth in sadness. "But... that was all of our money," she said. Zuko nodded, then pulled out a small purse of coins. Her eyes widened as he set it into her hands. "What is this?"

"Your money," Zuko said. His tone became hard. "While the low must obey the high, the high must respect the low. They were no better than criminals."

Ying had tears in her eyes. "Why did you do this?" she asked.

"Somebody had to," he said. He moved to walk away, but she grabbed his hand.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. Then, she turned, heading back into her tent. Zuko turned back, and walked through the camp. It was the last of the stops he'd had to make. They didn't know how much each person had lost, so they just divvied it up as evenly as they could and gave everybody an equal amount. The people were just pleased to get anything back. Jet was suddenly walking beside Zuko.

"Not bad for one night's work," Jet said. "You'd make an excellent freedom fighter."

"I wasn't fighting for you," Zuko said. "It just needed to be done."

"There's a lot of things that 'need to be done' in this world, Lee," Jet said. "Just look at what the Fire Nation has done. They took my parents. They scarred you for life..."

"I'm not interested in joining your little club," Zuko said, gruffly. Jet smirked.

"Talk to me in a little while. You'll change your mind."

"I'm not going to be here in 'a little while'," he said. "I'm crossing the Serpent's Pass today."

"People haven't crossed in days," Jet said. "They used to go in groups, but..."

"Well, I'm going. Anybody who wants to come with me can follow," Zuko said loudly. People began to send ripples throughout the camp. Jet just smirked.

"I like your style, Lee," Jet said. Zuko walked through the shanty town and located his uncle, who was drinking tea with several old ladies.

"Get up, Uncle, we're going through the Pass today," Zuko said. Iroh popped up, looking a bit confounded.

"But I was having the most wonderful..." he began.

"Now, Uncle," Zuko said. He'd had enough of this place.

Zuko walked through the camp, to the edge where Gow's men formed a line. They held out their hand, bidding Zuko stop. "Where do you think you're all going?" they asked. Zuko looked back. Ying, Taan and Yu were all standing close behind him. Clamor throughout the camp was that the pass was open again. Zuko turned back.

"We're going into the pass today," Zuko said.

"You can't go into the Pass," the soldier said.

"Then stop us," Zuko said. The men looked at him, then to each other. They parted. Zuko moved through.

"Please excuse my nephew," Iroh said behind him. "He's so excited to see the great city!"

"Uncle!" Zuko snapped. Iroh shrugged and followed. The small family was next, and Jet's small party was right after them. Zuko emerged from the canyon, and beheld a gate over the land. It reached, jagged and snaking, up through the water. A sign lay on the ground, where once it hung from the gate, reading 'Abandon Hope.'

"My, that is just awful," Iroh said. He looked up. "Somebody should really put that back up. It's so untidy leaving it on the ground."

And Zuko, the others in tow, began to walk down the Serpent's Pass.

* * *

The gentleman of weapons drank his tea as he stared across the waves from the deck of his ship. It looked like any that were produced in Azul, but where those were drab and black, his gleamed of silver. It was far smaller, but it was everything that he needed to go as he needed or wanted. He raised his brush and once again worked to capture the moonrise.

The butler silently poured a second cup of tea, before walking away. The gentleman of weapons had to admit, while Fat remained at his home in Azul, it was good to find decent help. He heard a sound on the deck plating, a patter of footsteps. He raised a dark eyebrow, and a dark grey eye turned. He knew somebody stood behind him. He had a good idea who, as well. He set down his brush, running his fingers along the sword which rest upon his knees. It was the finest blade he had ever produced; made of a unique metal he'd had to barter hard from the Northern Water tribe, it shined with an almost heavenly white sheen. And it could cut the face of a god. The footsteps moved closer, stealthy. Almost playful. A smile came to the gentleman of weapon's tanned, weathered face. He set his sword aside, and waited for the inevitable.

The steps became a run, and he felt something barrel into him. Tanned arms and legs thrown around him, while a girlish squeal erupted from its throat. "Piandao!" she cried. "I knew I saw you back there!"

Piandao got out of her monkey grip and stood, facing her. He smiled down at her. "It's been a long time, Ty Lee Baihu. A long, long time."


	11. Burning Rock II: Combustion

**How could I not use that guy again? Also, first in a bit of looking into Ty Lee's personality and character. The entire show, I always saw Ty Lee doing what she did below at some point, with the same hilarious results. Also, it made sense that at least somebody would have foreknowledge of the Day of Black Sun. If you're the leader of a nation who's cultural bending style is stymied by astrological events, and your culture is more than a couple of years old, you'd damned well better keep track of said astronomical events!**

**When I wrote this chapter the first time, I ended up having to scrap most of it, because it devolved into crap pretty fast. The new (current) version is vastly superior. **

* * *

The party was spectacular. While most of Xin Fu's goons had slunk away to lick their wounds, some, most notably the Boulder, joined Toph in celebrating her victory. Aang couldn't help but smile as the defeated champion sang the blind girl's praises in that almost overwhelmingly macho voice. It was good to finally find somebody who didn't hold hard feelings.

Katara stayed nearby. She was often near him, ever since the desert. He couldn't say he didn't like it. She was a comforting presence, a pillar of strength when even he needed to recharge or recuperate. She smiled a lot more, now. Then again, so did Aang. And Sokka? Well, he was amongst the ring ladies talking about his glorious duties as guardian to the Avatar. And, despite how corny and inaccurate he was, the ladies were just eating it up. One of these days, Aang was going to have to ask Sokka how he did that. No reason why, of course...

Also spectacular about the celebration was the length. It cut deep into the night, and was only petering out with the rising of the sun. Sokka had a short while ago wandered off, a grown woman on each arm. For once, Katara didn't object in the slightest. Aang could guess why. For one glorious evening, there was no war. There was no Azula and Zuko. There was no missing Appa. Ty Lee was still missing, but she'd departed before the party started. It was a pity. She probably would have enjoyed it.

Toph came sauntering over, looking every bit as tired as the rest of them. Only, this time, it was a happy tired. She grinned so wide it looked like the top of her head was going to fall off. "Sweetness, Twinkletoes," she acknowledged each with a punch in the arm before putting her feet up on what must have been a very expensive table. "Ahhhh, this is the sweet life, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Aang said. "I can see why you all love your hedonism so much."

"Please, you haven't been this happy since you had that following of fangirls on Kyoshi Island," Katara said gently.

"Who in the what, now?" Toph asked. Sokka wandered back in, looking disheveled, a bit baffled, but quite happy. Toph turned to him. "Oh, and Loverboy makes his appearance. All we need is Annoying One and we'll have a full set."

"Enjoy yourself?" Katara asked snidely.

"Yeah... it turns out they really didn't _need_ me," he said, a bit embarassed. "Ah, well. I learn something new every day."

Sokka walked over to the spot in the corner where everybody's bags had been thrown when the celebration began. There was a spindly old man who sat near the door, a valet, who made sure nothing got missing. Toph made sure of that with an amount of gold which made Aang's eyes pop. She would just throw that sort of money around? She really was _rich_. Sokka scowled.

"You know, I need my own bag," he said. "Something that screams 'Sokka'!"

"Yeah, because all you scream right now is 'fun and perky', with that pony-tail," Katara laughed.

"This," Sokka said, pointing at his hair and not turning, "is a warrior's wolf-tail. If you want a pony-tail, look at Ty Lee. And you're not one to talk, miss hair-loopies," Sokka chuckled. Katara leaned back. What was wrong with Katara's hair-loopies? "Huh?"

"Are you looking through my stuff?" Toph asked.

Sokka lifted out a barrel shaped cactus, and turned. "What is this?"

"Come on! What is _with_ you people? I don't _know_! I'm _BLIND_!" Toph shouted.

"Toph, did you buy a Barrel Peyote in the desert before we left?" Aang asked.

"No," Toph said. Everybody stared at her. "He's holding it right now, isn't he?"

"Yeah, I kinda am," Sokka said.

"Fine. I brought it along in case we need to drug somebody," Toph said. Then she shrugged and added quietly: "Or in case I get bored..."

Sokka shook his head, but he was grinning a bit. While Katara was staring at Toph like a disapproving parent, Sokka slipped it back into Toph's things. Toph smirked, but then stopped, laying a scarred hand to the floor. "Looks like Annoying One is back," she said. Everybody stared at her again. She pointed to one side. "Window."

A few seconds later, Ty Lee swung down through the window, landing next to Toph's feet on the table. Wow, somebody was really going spend days trying to get all the foot-prints off of it. That and the dirt. Aang stood, pulling his staff up with him. "You missed the party," he said, with a wide yawn. She beamed.

"I missed _your_ party," she said. She practically danced in the spot. "I got to see an old friend."

Everybody tensed, on high alert. "Which old friend was this, again?" Sokka asked carefully, finally finding his boomerang case.

"He's an old friend of my family, back home," she said. "He taught me so many things back when I was young. He doesn't teach many people, and he didn't tutor my sisters, either, now that I think about it."

She frowned for a moment, but the moment passed quickly. Everybody calmed when the 'he' pronoun was used. It instantly eliminated the most dangerous 16 year old girl they'd ever met. Sokka shrugged. "Who is this guy, then?"

"Oh, he's a master swordsman, a master bladesmith, a master painter, a master poet, and martial artist," she said.

"Wow, that's a lot of things to be a master of," Aang said.

"He's lived a while and he's got a lot of time on his hands," she said with a shrug. "You'd like him. His name's Piandao."

"You didn't tell this old friend about us, did you?" Katara asked. Ty Lee's face dropped a bit.

"Was I not supposed to?"

Everybody slapped their foreheads at the exact same moment, like a whip-crack in the room. She brightened. "But it's okay! He's got a boat and he's willing to take us to the other side of Full Moon Bay."

"_Does anybody else here see how badly this can go wrong?_" Sokka asked in Yqanuac.

"No fair! I'm speaking not speaking my language! Why should you get yours?" Ty Lee pouted.

Sokka sighed, tweezing his brow. "Fine. When?"

"He can leave any time," she said, suddenly bright again. The others let out murmurs of approval and began to dust themselves off and pick up their things. When Aang turned, Ty Lee was standing right behind him, a grin on her face. "Um, Aang? Could I ask a favor?"

"You can ask," Aang said. She pointed daintily at his staff.

"Could I see that for a minute?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked, but she just looked so darned hopeful. Finally, he rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't break it or lose it." She let out a yelp of joy and took the staff, swinging it around like a club for a few seconds, before starting to use it properly. Then, she stopped, pondering. After a moment, she twirled the staff and snapped open the glider. She got an excited look on her face. "Um, Ty Lee, you should be careful with that. Only airbenders are trained in using it. It's an antique and a precision instrum–"

He was cut off when she, laughing like a joyous child, took a flying leap out the window.

* * *

"You know," Iroh said. "This isn't so bad. A bit hilly for my tastes, but hardly something I would 'abandon hope' for."

"I've got a feeling the serpent was a metaphor," Smellerbee said. Even Jet gave her a sideways glance at that. "The snake is that which poisons, that which destroys from within. From what I've seen, the path is well named."

"The guards?" Jet said. Smellerbee nodded. Zuko made a note not to underestimate her mind again. They had paused briefly for a late breakfast, but they would be walking again soon. The climate was already getting colder as they moved north. Iroh moved to Zuko and pulled him aside.

"_You know what day this is?_" Iroh asked in Yqanuac, his tones very serious. More and more the language of the Tribesmen was something of a secret code between uncle and nephew. Few people in this part of the world spoke it, so few could eavesdrop. Zuko shook his head. Iroh reached forward and cuffed Zuko, surprising him. Iroh wasn't usually that way.

"_What was that for?_" Zuko asked. Iroh's gaze was hard and he now looked every inch a renowned, stern general.

"_Today is the day you were _supposed_ to prepare for,_" he said. "_A day which only we know about. A day of Black Sun_."

"_I thought that was a myth,_" Zuko said.

"_Hardly a myth,_" he said. "_I have lived through several. You must learn to trust other abilities, for when a day such as this comes, only they may save you._"

Zuko pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I will remember."

Iroh smiled, then, his fierce demeanor melting away. "I knew you would."

Jet walked over, nodding his head. "Come on. We're almost to the half-way point."

Zuko nodded, and moved with Jet at the front of the short column. It was a short distance, but the way the path twisted back on itself, it was hard to see very far ahead. The walking had been easy, but Zuko suspected something was making it harder than it had to be for so many refugees to bottleneck as they did in the canyon.

Zuko, younger and more fit than most, moved ahead, leaving the others behind. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his bones. He crested another rise, and turned another corner, and he saw it. The problem. The path switchbacked down and right into the water, only to rise back up again on the other side of an expanse of lake. Zuko moved silently forward, his feet padding against the traveled stone. He could see that there used to be a bridge, there, but it had been destroyed. He moved closer.

"What is going on?" Iroh said, startling Zuko. How had the old man caught up so quickly? Jet also peered at the damage. Perhaps Zuko wasn't as quick as he thought himself. He inspected the charred wood which used to stretch across the gap, now undone within a few bu of the path's end. Iroh ran his hands along the wood, and shook his head. "Oh, this is not good."

"Why not?" Jet asked.

"How long have the people been coming through here?" Iroh asked.

"As long as we've been here, at least. A few weeks," Jet said.

"This bridge has been destroyed for at least a month," Iroh said.

Zuko frowned. "But, what happened to the people who came here?" he asked. Iroh stared significantly at the water. Zuko's brow drew down.

"Wait... you're saying that Gow had them killed?"

"When one cannot drain any more blood from the stone, the stone must be thrown away," Iroh said. Possibly quoted, but Zuko had no idea from where. His questions were forestalled when stone pillars began to erupt from the ground, striking Smellerbee in the chest and knocking her back. Her armor had saved her, and Longshot dragged her battered body back.

"There's no end to it, is there?" Gow said, moving up from a spot hidden by the unforgiving terrain. "Is this going to happen easily, or painfully?" Zuko reached for his twin dao. Jet, his hook swords. Gow smirked, pulling out a pair of hammers. Others began to file around him. "Good. I was hoping painfully."

Zuko glanced at Iroh, who was inching back toward the family. Good man, Uncle, Zuko thought. Keep the soldiers away from those that can't fight. One of them ran at Zuko, but Zuko knocked him down without even drawing his swords all the way, braining him with the hilts. The others glanced at each other for a moment. Jet and Zuko shared a glance, then the battle began.

Zuko moved through them, a spirit amongst men. His attacks disarmed and disabled. A dodge and axe kick to snap a spear. A shallow slice on an arm to drop a sword. A snap of swords to drag a weapon up, before delivering a front kick, hurtling a soldier into the water below. Zuko threw the inferior blade away and looked at Gao, who was gauging the fight.

"These people trusted you, and you murdered them!" Zuko shouted. Gow scowled.

"Trust in one hand, gold in the other. See which fills up faster," he said. And he began to earthbend.

Jet moved through them, a child, yet a veteran. His attacks slashed and slaughtered. A rending slash to the collarbone, leaving a 'guard' lying in his own blood. A twist and slash which bit deep into one's gut. A snap of swords, dragging a weapon away, before driving the spikes of the hilts into exposed flesh, whereupon the guard fell, bleeding piteously, into the water below. Jet flicked the blood off of his blades and stood shoulder to shoulder with Zuko.

Zuko needed the help. Deflecting earthbending without firebending was difficult. Alone, it would have been impossible. But every time Zuko failed, Jet held the line until Zuko recovered. Zuko returned the favor. Gow seemed to get bored of fighting the swordsmen. He pounded the earth with his hammer, calling up a huge stone, which he smashed over Zuko and Jet's heads, directly at the civilians. Zuko's eyes went wide.

But just before it hit anybody, it exploded with a loud bang. Uncle stood there, in a low, earthbending-like stance. Jet looked at Zuko. "You didn't tell me he was an earthbender!"

"That's 'cause he's not a very good one," Zuko said. Technically the truth. Gow turned to the swordsmen again, who pressed the attack. He bent stones at them, and they cut their way through, getting closer and closer to the large, angry man. Jet reached him first, but instead of using bending, Gow just smashed the youth in the chest with a hammer, knocking him back. Zuko leapt forward to protect the 'Freedom Fighter', and got smashed in the hand for his trouble. One of his swords clattered away. He tried to press the attack, but Gow grabbed him by the waist and threw him up the path. Zuko heard something tear as he was thrown. Gow thrust both hammers up in one fist, and a thick wall of stone rose behind the civilians, trapping everybody. He then pushed backward, hurling a barrage of stone as he retreated over what was the lake, but upon an island of his own device. In one hand he had the hammers. In the other, he had the knife Uncle gave him all those years before. He pointed at Zuko and Jet.

"You know, when I first got this assignment, I thought my superiors were trying to punish me," Gow said on his island of stone. "But then, I realized that even the poor can yield costly oils if they're squeezed hard enough."

"You betray everything you're supposed to stand for," Zuko shouted.

"And you murdered those you were sworn to protect," Jet added, hobbling to his feet.

"Money makes a lot of things seem a lot less distasteful," Gow said smugly. He tucked Zuko's knife into his belt, then raised his arms to his sides. "And what are you people going to do about it? You're trapped, and I'm still armed to the teeth."

The answer was like a punctuation mark from the gods. A black arrow sprouted from his chest. Zuko looked back. Dark eyes stared from under a battered conical hat. Considering the distance, Longshot had definitely earned his moniker. Gow wobbled, then fell off the stone, vanishing into the water. Longshot lowered his bow, and Iroh moved to Jet.

"You have to get the others in the canyon through quickly," Iroh said. He laid a hand on Jet's shoulder. "I trust you have the strength to get them through safely."

"You'd better believe I do," Jet said. He noticed his wheat sprig was missing, so he reached into his pocket and grabbed a new one. He looked to Zuko. "I'll see you at the walls of Ba Sing Se."

Iroh moved to the wall, and took his deep stance again before bending a percussion at the wall. There was a blast, and the wall crumbled. The others didn't take it as anything unusual. They probably didn't know too much about earthbending, that there wasn't supposed to be a bang. Jet, Longshot, and a still dazed Smellerbee went back up the path, to guide the rest of the people onward. Taan looked at the water ahead of them.

"What do we do now?" he asked. Iroh got a grin on his face, and opened his hanbok.

"Now," he said cheerfully, "we go for a swim!"

* * *

Aang was astounded. The last time somebody besides him tried to use his glider, they fell straight down and landed rough in a pond. Not one of Sokka's prouder moments. But this girl? She was gliding. She didn't fly, not like Aang did, but she soared nonetheless. And she screamed and hollered for joy as she did it. This must be that acrobatics that she was talking about; she'd mentioned her time with a circus, the eclectic skills she'd gathered. Aang never imagined that flight, however rudimentary, would be one of them. She swooped and fell, swooped and fell, laughing and shouting.

Then, she flew straight into the side of a building. Aang's eyes went wide as she plummeted out of sight. He bounded out the window, crafting an air scooter as he did. He zipped along the streets like the winds he so easily controlled, skidding to a stop in front of a cobbler's shop. She was lying on her back, his staff in her hand. And she had a huge grin on her face.

"That. Was. Awesome!" she said. She looked up at him, as he tapped his foot next to her. "Oh, I always wanted to do that. As soon as I saw you go whooshing away on this thing I knew I had to try it someday. Can I do it again?"

"You flew into a building," Aang said flatly. She popped up to a sit.

"Don't worry, I didn't break anything," she said. She hopped to her feet, and handed over the staff. "I didn't even damage your gliding thingy. See?"

Aang couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. It reminded Aang of when he was first given his own glider. Of course, he already knew enough not to fly into the side of the temple. It would have been a much longer fall. Still, he took the glider back and examined it briefly. She must have snapped it closed before she hit; it was in just as good condition as when she grabbed it. "Next time, give me a bit of warning," Aang said.

Sokka and Katara came running from the building they'd been vacating. "Do you really think it's wise to fly over the streets of a Fire Nation city?" he asked.

"Um, I was doing the flying," Ty Lee said, waving a hand.

"What? But I thought..."

"I always wanted to soar," she said dreamily. Toph walked closer, obviously in no hurry. She hadn't seen Ty Lee's little spectacle. She seemed about to say something, but got a very serious look on her face. She bent down, and laid a hand on the ground.

"Guys," she said, "we're being ambushed."

The street exploded into stones, hurled like a whirlwind of destruction. Aang and Toph put them down together, but they smashed a good portion of the surroundings. Aang looked at a nearby roof, and saw the dark skinned man from the Beifong household. The bounty hunter.

"Gahj Muul," Toph Said.

"Bandit," Muul said. "It wasn't wise to fight under the name which has such a sizable bounty on it."

"I kicked your ass before, Muul, and I'll do it again," Toph said, striking a stance. "It doesn't matter how many earthbending flunkies you throw at me."

"Oh, I'm not using earthbending flunkies this time," Muul said. "I've got something special lined up for you."

Aang looked at Toph, but she had a confused look on her face. "Aang," she said, without turning. "Does it make any sense to you that I feel a ship coming up the road toward us?"

Aang turned back, to the way they'd come. A huge man stood alone in the abandoned street, wearing a flaxen tunic and dark pants. His right arm and right leg looked like they were made of metal. And he had a burning eye tattooed in the center of his forehead. Ty Lee saw him, and her eyes went wide. "Guys... RUN!"

The man took a deep breath, then he leaned forward. A sizzling sounded in the air, and loud pops moved toward the group at a terrific speed. Aang leapt forward and raised a wall of earth before that... whatever it was. It struck the wall Aang made, and detonated like a dozen barrels of blasting jelly.

Katara swept the water still lingering from last night's rain into a spike and hurled it toward the man in the street. He took another deep breath, then thrust his face forward again. That sizzling sound cut through the air again, this time the pops sounded until they reached the water. She snap froze it to ice, but that just made the... beam... explode sooner, shattering the ice and blowing out storefronts nearby. Aang grabbed Sokka and Ty Lee pulled along the other two.

"This is crazy!" Sokka shouted. "That guy's blowing stuff up with his _mind_!"

"It's firebending," Aang said. He didn't know much about that element, but he could feel it when somebody tried to kill him with it. "I've never seen anything like it."

"We should keep running," Ty Lee said.

"Yeah, leave Sparky Sparky Boom Man in our dust," Sokka said.

Toph stopped, frowning at him. "Sparky Sparky Boom Man? You can't come up with _anything_ better than that?"

"Toph, look out!" Aang shouted. Muul had landed in the alleyway, and whipped a spear like protuberance of rock at Toph. Without looking, she kicked up behind her, smashing it to dust. Aang could hear the rhythmic clanging of that metal leg approaching. Aang spun his staff, sending a small tornado at Muul, but Muul just rooted himself in place with his earthbending. The gang started running again, down a side alley. They emerged from it in a produce market.

"Have you got any ideas?" Toph asked Sokka. Sokka gaped.

"And what would I know about men who can combust things with arrow like precision?" he asked. The clangor stopped. He stood at the far end of the alley. He took a breath in. Everybody dived out of the way, and the beam tore into the produce market, detonating and wiping out all of the stalls and carts nearby.

"My _cabbages_!" came an anguished cry from an older man nearby.

Toph shook her head. "Ugh. I'm sick of this! Twinkletoes, you get the others out of here. I'll keep Combustion Man busy."

"Combustion Man. That's got a good ring to it," Sokka said. He looked at the rest, then back at Toph. He shook his head. "Gah! I'm not going to run off while he kills you."

Ty Lee was yanking on Katara, so she didn't have much to say in the matter. Aang and Toph shared a moment of profound understanding. A nod. Then, they ran off in opposite directions. The clangor was approaching again. Combustion Man appeared at the mouth of the alleyway, at the foot of his sphere of devastation. He looked at Aang and his group. Then, he looked at Toph and Sokka, running the other way. He didn't even bother looking at Aang again, just walking after Toph. Aang stopped. What was this? Combustion Man wasn't after Aang? Everybody was always after Aang! Then, he realized the mistake he was making. He grasped his head. "Oh! I'm so stupid," he shouted. "He's after Toph!"

"We've got to keep running," Ty Lee said, panic plain on her features. Katara finally broke free of her grasp.

"I'm not leaving my brother," Katara said with finality. Aang stared at her. So fierce. So determined. He could do much worse than having friends such as her. Ty Lee was shaking her head, in abject fear. He nodded, and then, they started to run again. This time, into the fray.

* * *

Zuko patted the water out of his ears. While he was a fairly good swimmer, the family that was traveling with them was definitely not. It was tiring for all involved, and they had to rest a while on the far bank. The day began to grow dim. Zuko looked up into the sky.

"It has begun," Iroh said.

"What has?" Taan asked.

"The solar eclipse," Iroh said. The sun slowly became blotted out, light vanishing from the day. He nodded. "Come, we must go. We are on the proper side, but we still have far to go."

The family just started moving again when Zuko felt a tremor under his feet. He spun, his hands going to his swords, when an outcropping of stone slammed up and into Uncle's gut, throwing him into the wall which lined one side of the path. "Uncle!" Zuko shouted.

"Keep crying, kid," Gow's voice came from down near the water. Zuko's eyes widened. He was still alive. The arrow had been snapped off near the wound, and he was still bleeding, but he moved forward with the deliberate consistency of a stone eroding. "You may have gotten these ones through, but I've still got a lot of money to make. And I think I'll take it out of the little girl, here."

Gow brandished his hammers, and hurled a stone at Ying. He was trying to smash a pregnant woman! Zuko surged past her, deflecting the rock away with his swords, and got in close with Gow. Gow was sluggish, from blood loss or near-drowning, Zuko couldn't say. But whatever the reason, it was a more even fight. Hammers against swords. And still, he was being pressed back. He couldn't depend on Uncle at the moment.

As the two men fought, a dire, inescapable cold settled into Zuko. He glanced to the sky. It was as though Agni never was. He knew in his soul this was what Father was talking about when he mentioned 'the darkest day'. His firebending was gone, shadowed behind the occluding moon. But Zuko started to smile, because in the darkness, a shadow could move.

Gow, not used to fighting in absolute darkness, was taken aback. Zuko pressed the attack, his blades lighting sparks against steel mallets. But where Zuko was essentially crippled, Gow had no such failings. Even as Zuko gained the upper hand, Gow began to earthbend again. The ground under Zuko's feet turned to mud. He had experience with mud, but it slowed him down. The shadow and the earthbender moved and fought, each trying to overpower the other, disarm the other, destroy the other.

Gow spun quickly, smashing his hammers into Zuko's blade. In order to keep it from flying out of his hand, he spun as well, and managed to dig a furrow along the large earthbender's side. Pain and further bloodshed seemed to ignite something in Gow, and he began to stomp forward, inevitable as nature itself. The shadow faltered. Zuko was forced back.

Zuko knew he couldn't keep up this kind of fight. He was hungry, his body malnourished. His strength would give out long before Gow's. He tried to push through the web of steel that Gow made with his twirling hammers, and slashed at Gow's neck. Gow deflected the slash high, and it tore along his face. But Zuko had overextended himself in his bid to end the fight. Gow capitalized.

A stunning blow to the ribs sent Zuko smashing into the wall. He tried to shake the stars out of his vision. Gow twisted, hurling one of his hammers at Zuko's head. He just managed to deflect it before it popped his head open like a rotten melon. He recovered himself fully, and stepped up, but a woman's terrified scream pierced the air. Zuko focused through the pain. Gow had pulled Zuko's knife and held it to Ying's throat.

"Don't do this, Gow," Zuko said.

"Why not?" Gow asked. "She's just some peasant from nowhere important. Nobody's going to remember her. Nobody's going to mourn her."

"I will remember her," Zuko said.

"Throw down your weapons, or she dies first," Gow shouted. Zuko looked up the path, to where Uncle was just managing to pull himself to his feet. It had been a cruel blow, but Iroh's rotund build had probably saved his life. Zuko stared at the ground for a moment, then sighed. Defeated, he threw down his swords, even as an anger hotter than he had felt in a long time ignited in him. "Good. Nice little peasant. Obey the high, like you're supposed to."

"You're going to get found out eventually," Zuko said.

"Maybe," Gow said, pressing the knife a little tighter. "But when I do, I'll have enough money to buy my way out of whatever charges they put on me. That's the wonderful thing about gold, kid. When you have enough of it, the rules just don't matter anymore."

"You're a sick, sad, hollow man," Zuko said.

"And you're nobody at all," Gow said. Zuko looked at the knife he had pressed to Ying's throat. Ready to murder both mother and unborn child. The characters on the blade still shined. Gow scowled. "What are you looking at."

"My knife," Zuko said. "'Never give up without a fight'."

"Never trust cutlery, peasant."

The world got a little brighter. Zuko looked up. The sun was beginning to peek out again, and a familiar warmth ran through Zuko. "Look at that, the sun's come out," Zuko said, deadpan. "It's a miracle."

Gow turned briefly, looking at Iroh. "Don't try anything funny, old man, or wife-y here gets another smile."

"Hey, Gow," Zuko said, conversationally. He felt that rage boil up. And now it had somewhere to go.

"What?" Gow asked.

Zuko surged forward, letting out a stream of fire from two fingers, slender but blazing hot. It snipped through Ying's hair and slammed into the center of Gow's face. His entire body went rigid, his arms snapping away from his hostage. Ying cried out and huddled down as Gow slipped away from her and landed, still and smoking, on the edge of the path. Iroh shook his head, slowly. All other eyes looked at him. With fear? With relief? He couldn't say. He slowly reached down and gathered up his swords. Then walked past Ying and took his knife.

"You... you're a firebender," Taan said.

"Not a very good one," Zuko said.

"Are... are you a spy?" Yu asked. Zuko shook his head slowly. The sheath for the knife was lost, so he bundled it in rags and slipped it into his belt. He kicked Gow's corpse off the cliff. He thought it would be harder, somehow, to use his fire this way. Maybe it was easy because the alternatives were worse?

"Your burns," Ying said, still huddled on the ground. "And what you did for us... Who are you?"

Zuko looked at his uncle, then back to the refugees. He got a small smile on his face. "I'm just somebody trying to get back home," he said. He turned and went to his uncle. "I'll understand if you don't want to travel with me."

"To Hell with that," Taan said. "You saved my wife's life, and my child. You may be a firebender, but I still owe you more than I can ever repay."

Zuko looked at Iroh. Iroh seemed just as surprised as he was. He turned back, casting a glance over his shoulder. "Then we should get moving. I'm fairly sure Ying would like to have even ground under her feet."

* * *

Another loud blast sounded over Sokka's head, and he ducked as a building's facade was blasted down the street. "I think we have his attention," Sokka said. Toph smirked. He knew that while he couldn't see Combustion Man, she could. She turned, facing a wall, and beyond it, the crazy firebender. She punched downward. Sokka turned. Combustion Man was buried to his chest in the road. Sokka took this as an opportunity to start running. Toph joined him. Combustion Man saw them run, though, and his entrapment didn't forestall his ability to blast them with his death beams.

A beam shot past, barely missing Toph as she dived out of the way. It went into the wall of a building, demolishing it. "This is just getting ridiculous," Toph shouted. "If he keeps this up, the Fire Nation's going to declare war on him!"

Sokka breathed deep. They had to figure out some way to get past the guy, but he was relentless. Sokka leaned out of his corner just enough to glance. Combustion Man was slowly hauling himself out of the hole she'd made. Then, the dark guy ran up next to him and stomped him up out of the pit. Sokka winced.

"Looks like Mule has caught up with the action," Sokka said.

"Muul," she corrected. They started running again. The city was vast, but somehow, they just kept _coming_. The two ducked into a shop, staring warily at the streets.

"What are you doing in here?" the shopkeeper asked. "No loitering!"

"No, we're... ah... shopping," Sokka said, grabbing a green and gold bag from the shelf. The shopkeeper scowled at them. Now _there_ was a woman he had absolutely no desire to flirt with. Still, Sokka forced a grin onto his face. "See? Very nice. Can't fault the worksmanship."

"Can it, Loverboy," Toph said. "We've got incoming."

Sokka looked at Toph, then back to the unpleasant mistress. "You might want to duck."

"Duck? Why?"

She was answered by both Toph and Sokka ducking, followed a few seconds later by paving stones tearing through the front of her store, smashing her displays to bits. She was spitting with rage, but Sokka had more important things to worry about. He got an idea.

"Toph, give me that cactus!" he said.

"Now's not the time for that. And besides, it's _MY_ cactus," Toph answered.

Sokka just dug through Toph's things and retrieved the Barrel Peyote. He put it into the bag he was still carrying, and leaned out the window. Muul was riding a wave of earth which screamed along the streets. Sokka swung the bag a few times to get some velocity, then hurled the cactus, right into Muul's face. It splattered, getting the hallucinogenic juices into his eyes and mouth. More importantly, it was a heavy weight which smashed in in the head unexpectedly. He fell off his wave, crashing down somewhat short of the shop.

Toph got up, looking out at Muul. She turned to Sokka, and kicked him in the shin. "You owe me a psychotropic cactus, Loverboy."

Pops sounded in the air, and Toph grabbed ahold of Sokka. She stamped her feet, and both fell into the stone under the road. There was a shudder that even Sokka could feel, before she popped back up, and Sokka stumbled. The street was detonated, there was no better word for it. Combustion Man stomped closer. They ran.

Behind them, Sokka could see the shopkeeper run out to Combustion man, screaming at him that he'd ruined her business. He just gave her a back-hand with his iron fist, knocking her out. They were running out of places to run, and even Sokka could tell that Toph was running out of steam. Combustion Man just marched, implacable, onward. Toph skidded to a stop, looking concerned. "What is it, Toph?" Sokka asked.

"I can't feel anything," she said. Sokka looked down. The stone flagstones had given way to wood slats. She was blind. Like, _really_ blind. Sokka growled, then ran to her, scooping her up and carrying her. "What are you doing?"

"This means absolutely _nothing_," Sokka said. "And if you tell _anybody_ about this... yeah I can't really carry through on that threat."

Sokka ran, carrying the blind girl as they moved through the area close to the dock. It was strange. For once, Sokka, un-bending, un-Avatar, un-superpowered Sokka was saving people's lives. He could get used to this. There was a crash at the end of the boardwalk. He looked to the side. He could swim like a fish, but he knew Toph was abjectly terrified of water that went over her neck.

The Combustion Man was about to make the decision for him, but a wave of stone upset him as he was breathing in. He turned, and blasted his death ray down a side street. Detonation. A wave of water crashed over him, Katara skating over its crest. Combustion Man was rooted, and he fired another death ray up at her, but it passed through the water she surfed upon, detonating high in the sky. Aang skated in her wake, blasting Combustion Man with columns of flame. The rolled over him like he wasn't even there.

"Nothing seems to hurt him!" Katara shouted from the intersection. Aang just kept up the pressure, and the Combustion Man tried to pin somebody down, get them into a position where he could death beam them. Ty Lee dropped from a roof near them, shouting.

"Come on! He's a Sixth Focus master! You've got to run!" she screamed. The Combustion Man idly shot a death beam at her, but she backflipped out of the way. Aang and Katara finally got the message, and broke off, heading toward Sokka and Toph.

"What does that mean?" Sokka asked, around a corner from Combustion Man.

"He's gathering an enormous amount of energy in his sixth Chakra," Ty Lee said, panting and sweating. She must have been running hard. She stopped, getting a curious expression. "Why are you carrying the blind girl?"

"Loverboy here's my palanquin," Toph said, as though this were nothing out of the ordinary. The city became strangely darker, for some reason.

"You women are all crazy!" Sokka shouted. Katara surged around the corner, still skating on the planes of ice she called up as she needed. Aang shot in upon an air scooter, but almost stumbled.

"Um, guys, you could have picked a better hiding spot," Aang said. Sokka turned. The alley looked like it went on for a bit, but it came to a dead end, backed on all sides by iron sided buildings.

"Iron?" Katara said.

"What? Did they build this city _just_ so I couldn't bend it?" Toph shouted. Sokka recoiled a bit.

"We could go down," Katara said.

"The Hell you say!" Toph countered. The stomping came close again, and stopped at the mouth of this back alley. It was almost dark as night, despite the hour. The Combustion Man stared at them, then took a breath in. He leaned forward, and everybody flinched for the death beam. Nothing happened.

Nobody looked more confused than the Combustion Man. Aang moved forward with a fire punch, but nothing happened, either. Sokka looked up. The sun was gone. "The Darkest Day," he muttered. It finally made sense. During the darkest day of the Fire Nation, the nation lost territory, because all firebenders lost their bending. It was tied to the sun, and there might as well have been no sun at all! Katara didn't seem to care about the significance of this, though, and pulled up a spike of seawater, which blasted upward through the floor.

"Hold on to Sokka, Toph," she said. And she hauled the entire group onto the flash-frozen surf of the docks, and Aang pushed them along behind her. Toph did exactly as Katara said, clinging to Sokka like a child.

"That's the boat! That's Piandao's boat!" Ty Lee shouted. Katara got the message, and moved toward the ship she pointed to. It looked like every other Fire Nation ship, except it was smaller and it shined silver in the darkness, laughing at the drab ships that vanished completely in the blackness of the eclipse. Katara dumped them onto deck. Aang landed gracefully, she skidded to a stop. Toph and Sokka landed in a pile. Ty Lee bounded off the ice and screamed at a man standing at the gangplank, on the other side of the ship. "Cast off! Somebody's trying to explode us!"

"Explode you?" the older man said. Then he nodded. "Fuomi, full speed!"

The ship belched smoke from its stack, then moved away from the docks. A clangor sounded at the docks. Combustion Man looked at them from the end of the pier. Sokka leaned over the back rail and shouted. "What're you gonna do? Stare us to death? Ha!"

Combustion Man just stared, dwindling into the distance as the ship exited the port at what was probably an unsafe speed. The land pulled away. And above, the darkness began to part, the sun slipping out sliver by sliver behind the moon. Sokka smiled, sauntering back to the fore deck of the ship. "_Aang, I've figured something out,_" he said in his own language. "_Something important. It might help us win the War._"

"What is it, Sokka?" Aang said.

"_Firebenders lose their firebending in the eclipse!_" he said. "_If we can find out when the next solar eclipse happens, we can invade the Fire Nation and take down the Fire Lord without a fight!_"

Aang gaped. "You're right. I could feel it leaving me."

Katara stared at her brother. "_Sokka, you may have just saved the world_," Sokka was annoyed how surprised she sounded. "_We need to get this information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se!_"

Ty Lee leaned into the group. "Whatcha talkin' about?" she asked. Everybody shared a glance, and a common understanding.

"Nothing," Sokka said. "Nothing that matters. I'm just glad I didn't get blown up."

"As I suspect almost anybody would be," the older man reappeared, dressed in long drab robes. He was quite possibly the tallest man Sokka had ever seen, but lanky and easily as tanned as Sokka or Katara. His beard was trimmed very close, and his hair was pulled back from his head. "I am Piandao. Welcome to my ship. Ty Lee told me so much about you all."

Aang nodded, and looked Piandao in the eye. "What do you intend to do to me?"

"Nothing," he said. "What ill will would I bear towards the Avatar?"

The gang glanced amongst themselves. Except for Ty Lee, who just grinned at the older man. "But... aren't you from the Fire Nation?"

"I was born and raised in the Azul provinces," Piandao said. "That does not mean I walk in lock-step with Ozai."

"Fire Lord Ozai?" Katara asked.

Piandao looked a bit annoyed. "That man is no Fire Lord of mine. Come. Have tea. It will be a few days until we reach out destination."

"Why are you helping us?" Aang asked.

Piandao glanced at the horizon, which was now bright. "How could I not?"

Sokka shrugged, and realized he still had a bag hanging from his arm. He lifted it. "Where did this come from?" he asked. Toph frowned, walking aimlessly, possibly blindly, on the ship. Sokka grinned. "Hey, Toph, this bag matches your belt!"

* * *

Zuko leaned against a stone. The night was near, and the others were coming soon. They'd made it most of the way across the Serpent's Pass, and found a nice, broad section where the people had hunkered down. Jet moved ahead of the other people, smirking as he came to Zuko's side.

"We did a lot of good today, Lee," he said.

"Not the first time you've said that," Zuko said. He shrugged, then added, "today."

"Yeah, but this time, you've really made a difference in these people's lives. You're a real freedom fighter, Lee," Jet said.

"I'm not fighting for you," Zuko said. "Not for anybody."

"You could have fooled me," Jet said. "I can always use somebody like you."

Zuko turned, staring at Jet. "Maybe I don't have any use for somebody like you."

Jet shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself. But when the Firebenders come burning into Ba Sing Se, you'll be begging to take my back with your swords."

"We'll see about that," Zuko said. Jet walked away, talking with Smellerbee and Longshot. Ying walked up to him, staring at Jet. Zuko frowned. "What do you want?"

"He really hates the Fire Nation," she said.

"They killed his family," Zuko said. "He's got his reason."

"You're a..." paused, leaning in and whispering. "firebender."

Zuko frowned. Was she going to blackmail him? It would suit his luck. And there was nothing he could do about it, not and still be able to call himself a man. She leaned back, and smiled, light and airy. "So?"

"So you have nothing to fear," she said. "Your secret is safe with us."

A strange weight lifted off of Zuko's shoulders. A smile pulled at his features. "Thank you."

She didn't turn him in. She had all the power in the world over him, and she just let it go. Zuko didn't understand. Iroh moved to his side, still rubbing his sore belly. He stared out over the water as the people poured into the plateau. "You did a very stupid thing, Nephew," he said.

"I know, Uncle," Zuko said.

"You could have jeopardized everything we worked toward," Iroh continued.

"I know, Uncle."

"You could have hurt the pregnant woman," he said.

"But I didn't, Uncle."

Iroh laughed briefly. "I'm glad you did it, even if it wasn't wise. Sometimes, doing the wrong thing for the right reasons is as good as doing the right thing."

"I remember, Uncle," Zuko said. And like other refugees, they waited as the day ended, high above the waters of the Serpent's Path.


	12. On Full Moon Bay

**This chapter didn't turn out the way I thought it would. But I'm happy it turned out the way it did.**

* * *

Toph did not look happy. She laid down in the center of the deck, spread out and face down, and hadn't moved since the boat started steaming up the river. She occasionally groaned, or even yelped if the ship lurched suddenly, but other than that, did absolutely nothing. Until, after quite a few hours, she finally spoke, declaring "I hate the world and everybody in it," before falling silent again. Sokka found it endlessly amusing.

He sat at the back, casting a line into the river. In a weird way, it called back to before all of this nuttiness, before the Avatar, before Sozin's Comet, before Azula and Toph and Yue. Yue. She was on his mind lately. He still dreamed, and when he dreamed, he went to her. Not last night, though. Last night, he'd lay awake, wondering what he was doing. He was Sokka, son of Hakoda. She was the moon. There wasn't much potential there.

"_Where did you learn Huojian, anyway?_" Ty Lee asked asked, in that language. "_It's been buggin' me since New Ozai._"

Sokka looked up at her, shrugging. "_It got yelled hatefully at me enough, I just started to pick some things up,_" he answered. "_I'm still learning._"

"You're looking morose," Ty Lee said, standing on her hands on the rail. Unlike most fire nation ships, the rail wasn't a solid plank, but a set of well wrought and stylized tubes which made it unlikely for somebody to fall off. Unless her name was Toph. He smiled up at her. Or tried to. "Oh, don't smile when you're thinking like that. It makes your aura all jumbly."

"You don't really see auras, do you?" Sokka asked, reeling in his line. She frowned, then let swung herself under the rail and sat next to him. She was impressively flexible.

"Your's is white," she said sadly, then she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. "It didn't used to be."

"Right. And white means?"

"You're grieving," she said. "I saw that as soon as we met in New Ozai. I didn't know what it meant then. Who was she?" Ty Lee asked.

"Why do you think there was a she?" Sokka asked. Damn if she wasn't right on the mark, though.

"You said so. Sokka, there are different auras. Purple is sarcastic. Red is lusty. I expected those from you. Blue is violent. I try to stay away from people with blue auras. Black is stubborn. White is profoundly sad. The deeper I look, the more I can see. It's more complex than that, but that's an easy way of describing it."

"What's Aang's aura look like?" Sokka asked, sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't look at his," she said. "It gives me a terrible headache."

Sokka finished pulling in his line, and cast it back out into the water. He hung his head. "Her name was Yue," he said. "She was a princess, daughter of the North Tribe's High Chief."

"Wait, aren't you the son of the South Tribe's High Chief?"

"Yeah, but we're 'bastard degenerates' who have 'no proper sense of morality or shame', and 'not even the slightest bit of manners or tact'." Sokka said. Pakku was always extremely frank about what he thought of other people's behavior. "We don't have royalty. Whoever's the Chief, earned being the Chief. Gramp-gramp wasn't the Chief."

"Neat. You know, you'd look _really_ cute if you let your hair grow out a bit."

Sokka stared at her, then forced himself to continue. "We were close. Yue and me. But she was living on borrowed time. She had the energy of the spirits in her. And when Zhao killed them, she had to take their place."

"That's so sad," she said. "Did you ever tell her how you felt?"

"Yeah. But it didn't matter. She was getting married off," he said. He didn't tell Ty Lee that Yue died a widow, and that Sokka still visited her on an almost nightly basis. That would have just been crazy. "It was just doomed from the start."

"And now you're afraid of ever putting yourself into that position again?" Ty Lee asked.

"No, I'm completely fine. I almost bagged two women in one night!"

"First of all, as I hear it, you didn't stand a chance," Ty Lee said. "And secondly, you didn't care about them. You're doing this so you won't get attached and you won't get hurt."

"And so what if I am?" Sokka said grimly. "Lots of people do it. They call it a lifestyle up here in the north."

Ty Lee shook her head. "You'll never be happy if you keep doing that to yourself," she said. "I used to be a lot like you. But then, something happened, something I didn't think would matter in the slightest, and it changed the way I saw the world."

* * *

Zuko walked, his uncle at his side. The 'freedom fighters' were elsewhere, keeping their own company. He felt like his legs were going to drop off. What he would have given for Iroh not to have given away that stupid ostrich horse. Walking was interminable. He frowned, then chastised himself. There was no way he could have known what to expect, and even if he had, there was no good way to get an ostrich horse across unbridged water, anyway.

"We're getting close," Iroh said, pointing at the horizon. Zuko squinted, but he couldn't see any difference.

"It looks like we're as far as we always were," Zuko said. Uncle pushawed and pointed in the distance.

"You can already see the walls from here," he said. Zuko shook his head.

"Are you alright? I mean, you did take a pretty hard hit yesterday..." Zuko said. Then, he understood. He mistook the walls for the northern horizon. His eyes widened. He'd heard stories about the unbelievable scale of the Outer Wall, but to see it in the flesh was humbling. From horizon to horizon in the north, the Walls spread. And they were still at least a day away.

"What will we do when we get there?" Zuko asked.

"Whatever we have to," Uncle answered. "You worry to much, Nephew. Sometimes, you must simply accept that destiny has something planned for you, and go with its design."

"Yeah, well, considering how well my 'destiny's been treating me lately, I think I'll just be safer... I don't know... serving _tea_ somewhere."

Iroh chuckled to himself, running his hand down his now quite full grey beard. Zuko supposed his own could use a good trimming. But that was something for another time. The crowd parted slightly, and Yu came running to Zuko's place. She panted slightly, and pointed backward. "Lee, Mushi, come quickly," she said, clearly out of breath.

"What is it?" Uncle asked.

"It's Ying, she's gone into labor!" she said.

"Surely there are more qualified..."

"She asked for you and Mushi specifically," she said. Iroh let out a happy sound.

"I do so enjoy babies," Iroh said, gleefully. He grabbed Zuko's arm and dragged him forward, in Yu's trail. Zuko was beginning to see this as an allegory for destiny. Being dragged around without having any idea what was expected of you, only to find yourself horrified and outclassed when you got to the end, and often found yourself either a stinking mess, or dead. Okay, maybe not a perfect allegory.

Ying and Taan had set up a lean-to against some rocks, and she huddled underneath. Taan was right at her side. Zuko knew from stories told that when he was born, Ozai refused to enter the room. It only took one look at Taan to know which cultural more he preferred. "So, why am I supposed to be here?" Zuko asked.

"I've never had a baby before," Ying said, easily as out of breath as her younger sister. "I don't know what to do. I need somebody I can trust."

"Please, you're worrying yourself pointlessly," Iroh said, quickly taking control. "Women have been giving birth for thousands upon thousands of years. Most of the time, all they need is a bit of calm, somebody to keep them safe, to keep them warm. Fear is the most dangerous thing to somebody in your position."

"And what would you know about childbirth?" Zuko asked.

Iroh stopped, and turned. "I was there, when my son was born," he said, staring at Zuko. Zuko knew Iroh was there when _he_ was born, too. "I know what it is to bring life into this world. And now, I expect you to understand it, too."

Zuko shrugged. "Fine. So what am I supposed to do? Make bandages? Build a crib?"

"Just start a fire and boil some water," Iroh said. "Ying is a healthy woman. I suspect she will be just fine."

Zuko rolled his eyes, and began setting a fire outside. Sticks into a pile, then fumbling with spark rocks until something caught. It had taken him weeks of practice to figure out how these damned things worked. It was so much faster and easier to just bend fire. But now, that wasn't even close to being an option. He pondered a moment. Iroh was right about that, too. But as he huddled, under the lean-to with that family and a sweating, panting pregnant woman, he couldn't stop thinking about his destiny.

To capture the Avatar. To restore his honor. It was beginning to ring hollow. He didn't know what his destiny was. Or if he wanted to have any part of it. Sometimes, he felt like he was just going through the motions. And maybe, that was for the best. Beside him, Iroh began to coach the woman. "Alright, now you have to remain calm, and breathe. The energy in your body is in your breath, and you will need much of it for what is to come. Breathe in, and out. In and out. Calm, and steady."

Zuko found himself doing much the same thing. Calm and steady. Wouldn't it be nice to just be... calm and steady?

* * *

Aang found Piandao meditating on the balcony surrounding the ship's tower. He sat, legs crossed, a sword across his knees, his back straight, and his eyes closed. In a lot of ways, it was probably similar to how Aang himself looked when he meditated. Except for the sword part, anyway. Things had changed quickly. From fights and violence to an easy boat-ride. It always changed so fast.

"There is something on your mind, young Avatar," Piandao said, his eyes still closed and otherwise not moving in the slightest. Aang rubbed the back of his freshly shaved head.

"A few things," Aang said, sitting down next to the old master. "How did you know I was the Avatar, anyway?"

"Your wanted posters are blazened all over the Fire Nation," Piandao said evenly. "Yours is not a visage easily mistaken for any other."

"I guess. I just wonder why some people react so negatively to me," Aang said. "According to Roku, Avatars were always loved and respected."

"In his day, they were," Piandao said. "But after his death, and during the long interregnum before your appearance, others have appeared, claiming to be the Avatar. They knew a few tricks, convinced a some people, and used their stolen influence to sway nations. There was a civil war a few decades ago in the East Continent, headed by a false Avatar. He was the last of them for many years. When you appeared, I had not dared to hope."

"You don't hold the same opinion of me that a lot of your countrymen do," Aang pointed out.

"I know what the Avatar is," he said. "I know that it is needed."

Aang stared down on the deck, and watched as the acrobat walked along the narrow railing of the ship. Then, as if that weren't tricky enough, she flipped up onto her hands and walked it upside down. "I don't know what to believe about that one," Aang said quietly.

"The waterbender?" Piandao asked.

"Ty Lee," Aang said. Why did he think Aang meant Katara? Piandao tilted his head just a bit and gave Aang a glance. "I mean, she's a nice person, but she's so loyal to Azula. It makes no sense. And that's not the only thing about her that doesn't make sense. She fights using Dim Mak. That's an Air Nomad martial art. I'd just thought it would vanish."

"Things only vanish if we let them," Piandao said. He sighed, shifting out of his meditative pose. "Ty Lee was my student. I sought to make something out of her. Something that I knew the world needed. It was perhaps presumptive of me to assume that I knew better than the universe, of what deserved or did not deserve to be in it, but... you were gone. There was nobody else."

"I don't understand," Aang said.

"Tell me about Ty Lee's habits," Piandao said. "What does she do without thinking about it? Who is Ty Lee when she thinks she is alone?"

Aang frowned, leaning back. "Well, um. She is extremely enthusiastic. About everything. And, uhhhh. She forgives pretty much anything. She's interested in Sokka, but he isn't responding to her. She stole my glider once and crashed it into a building."

"She did?" Piandao asked.

"Yeah, she really seems to like flying," Aang said, remembering the same sort of gleeful enthusiasm from her when they all went to Chin aboard Appa, almost a year ago. Thinking about Appa brought a stab of loss to Aang's heart.

"And why do you think that is?" Piandao asked.

Aang pondered for a moment, considering what he knew of her, both past and present. "She seems to resonate with freedom," Aang said. "She spends her every waking moment defying the expectations we place upon her, and moving _away_ from the responsibilities that are placed upon her. She'd be the physical manifestation of Chaos in the world if she were the slightest bit malevolent."

"But she is not. She knows a martial art which only the Air Nomads should. She fights in such a way as to cause no lasting harm or injury, let alone loss of life. Her diet is more vegetarian than not. She has an overflowing love of everything in the world that isn't actively trying to kill her," Piandao looked down at Sokka, who was now in conversation with her. "And sometimes, I suppose even that rule would be suspended."

Realization dawned on Aang. "She's like an Air Nomad," Aang said.

"In another lifetime, she might have been," Piandao said. "I taught her from when she was a young child. Selfishly, perhaps, but with a happy conclusion. I sought to bring something lost back into the world."

"You were trying to turn her into an airbender," Aang said. Piandao nodded. "But she's not an airbender."

"I realize that," Piandao said. "But she is a good person, living well. She may not be an airbender, but her children might be. And so might their children."

"But why?" Aang asked.

"Because the world needs it," Piandao said. "The Avatar Cycle is fire, air, water and earth. If the Avatar cannot cycle back to the air, then the cycle will be broken, the bridge between worlds dissolved. The Shamans and gurus will have no voice in the far world, and the world will crumble into imbalance."

Aang nodded. All of this made sense. "Why do you sound so regretful about it?" Aang asked.

"Because I did the one thing I thought I would never do. I made a little girl into a weapon," Piandao said. "Jeong Jeong and Ozai have done it before I, and done it better, but the principle stands. Avatars are realized at sixteen years of age. I thought that, with the Air Nomads dead, Ty Lee would _be_ the Avatar, if I could train her in time."

"Yeah, that's not how it works," Aang said lightly. Piandao let out a small smile.

"Perhaps not."

"I still don't know why she's so loyal to Azula," Aang said.

"Ty Lee is very good at seeing what other people miss," Piandao said. "Perhaps she is so loyal because she sees something in the Princess that others miss. Perhaps, she sees something in the girl that inspires her loyalty. If Azula were truly as mad and deranged as you, and many other, seem to believe, I doubt Ty Lee would associate with her."

Aang sighed. "I'm just worried that she might be seeing something that isn't really there."

Piandao frowned. "Perhaps. But she is free to befriend whomever she pleases. Her way is freedom. Just as it is yours. I often wonder what destiny intended for her. What she would have become if I had not interfered."

Aang shrugged. "Maybe your interference was part of her destiny," Aang said. "The thing about how the universe works is that we seldom see every consequence of the actions we take. We can only hope that in the end, the good outweighs the bad. The universe takes care of the rest. You may have taught Ty Lee things which changed her path from the one others would have put her on, but how can you or I say that it's a bad thing?"

Piandao smiled a bit. "What I would have given to have lived a century ago," he said, gently. "To be surrounded by men and women like you."

* * *

"I have six sisters," Ty Lee said. She glanced over to Toph, who'd scooted over to the edge of the ship, grabbed ahold of the rails, and hung her head over the edge. She looked quite green in the features. Ty Lee turned back to Sokka, who was staring at a fish about the size of his thumb on his line. "You could call them twins, but that word isn't accurate. We were septuplets."

"Seven children in one birth?" Sokka asked, skeptical. He pulled the fish off, and looked like he was considering throwing it away, but then shrugged and dropped it into a pail and recast his line. "Your mother must have been the size of a house."

"No, we were all small when we were born. Zhu Di was the smallest; she looked like a doll," she shook her head. "But between wet nurses and some of the best doctors in Grand Ember, we survived."

"So there's six more women out there who look exactly like you?" Sokka said, his interest perked. He ignored the tugging on his lure. Ty Lee smirked and gave him a shove.

"Stop thinking like that. It's gross," she said. "But yes. We were an old, established House. Our foundation happened so long ago that nobody even remembers who he was. But that meant that there was a lot expected of us. We had responsibilities. We had duties. And I didn't like the look of some of the responsibilities that got put on my plate."

She started when Toph began to wretch violently, her breakfast and lunch sluicing down into the water. "Are you alright?"

"I will _murder_ the man who invented metal boats," Toph said miserably. Ty Lee leaned over and patted Toph's back, but she just muttered unpleasantly.

"Anyway. It was coming time when Mother and Father were beginning to pick out spouses for us."

"You do that too?" Sokka asked. "I thought it was just a Northern Tribe thing."

"Really? Anyway. I met the guy they wanted me to marry, once. He wasn't a bully or an idiot or anything really bad. I just didn't like the idea of having to spend the rest of my life with somebody so... ordinary," she grabbed her pony tail and began to twist at it, a nervous habit of hers. "I always felt like the universe had something different in store for me. Not just to be 'one of the Baihu girls', until I got married off and faded into obscurity. I felt like there was some destiny out there for me."

"Let me tell you a little something about destiny," Toph said, pulling herself back up, still looking a bit ill. "I was destined to be blind, weak, and useless. So one day, I walked up to destiny, spit on his chest, kicked him in the rocks and stole his wallet. I've got no intention of being the Toph Beifong my father thought I was. We all make our own destiny, or else follow somebody else's."

"Wow, that's fairly profound," Sokka said. Toph smirked.

"Thank you. I've had a lot of time to think while hurling into the ocean."

"River."

"A difference without distinction to me," Toph said, putting herself back into her previous stance, hands tight on the bars, head over the edge of the boat. Sokka stared at the water for a moment, then pulled up his line. It came up, minus a fish hook. He scowled.

"So, you've got an arranged marriage waiting for you at home, too?" Sokka said.

"Oh, no. When I left home and joined the circus, there was a big scandal. Father cut ties to me to save face," she said.

"So you're an outcast?"

"So I'm free," she corrected. She kicked her feet over the water for a few moments while Sokka tried to get a new hook on his line. "Do you ever wonder where you'll be in a year? In five?"

"Not really," he said. "I'm never really sure what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone the day after that. For all I know, before dinnertime today, we could be attacked by an exploding Fire Nation spoon, or show up in Ba Sing Se to find it flooded and overrun by evil monsterous shrimp," he stopped as he let out a yelp, and pulled away. The fish hook was embedded into his thumb. She looked at him, but he waved her away. "Don't worry, I once had two of them in there. This is nothing."

"Exploding spoon?" Ty Lee asked, laughing.

"Hey, stop hogging the cactus juice!" Toph shouted from her spot down the rail.

"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us," he noted, trying to get the fish hook out. He reached for another fish hook.

"Um, Sokka?" Ty Lee asked. He looked to her. "Two fish hooks?"

He glanced at his thumb, realized what he was about to do, and blushed. "Yeah. It'd be idiotic to make _that_ mistake again," he said.

"And who would have seen it coming?" Toph muttered.

"No comments from the peanut gallery," Sokka said. Toph scowled, then turned back to the water. He leaned back, working the hook slowly out of his thumb. "Do you talk to your family often?"

"No. I haven't even sent them a letter since I got stranded in Kyoshi, and they haven't sent one back since the news reached them that I was in the circus."

"Don't you miss them?" Sokka asked. She shook her head.

"Do I miss being with six identical versions of myself? Do I miss walking up to my own mother or father and them having to guess five times to get my name right?" She shook her head. "Out here, I'm me. There's nobody else like me. I'm alone, and I'm unique. I matter," her voice was quavering at the end. Sokka reached over and patted her back.

"That really bugs you, doesn't it?" he asked. He glanced up for a moment. "Look, I haven't exactly been honest with you."

"About what?" she asked.

"About Yue," he said. He stared at Toph, then nodded away. She frowned, but followed him to the back of the ship. He stared up at the horizon. "I said that she and I could never be together. Well... we were. And are, in a way."

"What does that mean?" Ty Lee asked.

"Well..." Sokka seemed to be having a hard time figuring out how to say it. "She's the moon. When I sleep, I dream of her. And... well... stuff happens," he said awkwardly. She stared at him. Did he mean...?

"Sokka, are you having an affair with the moon?" Ty Lee asked.

"Yup. I'm in a romantic relationship with a dead woman. Who is also the moon," Sokka said, somewhere between sarcasm and shame.

"Wow. You were right. Weird things do happen to you people."

* * *

Zuko stared into the fire, trying to take his mind off of the panting woman nearby. The crowds had moved on ahead, and Jet's 'freedom fighters' were keeping watch over them. Zuko felt jumpy. Like something was just going to leap out of the earth and attack him. But nothing came. It must be all this waiting. It was making a coward of him.

Zuko stared into the fire, and he stared backward in time. He was young. Mother was still with them, and Azula was only beginning to bend fire. She always did better than he did. He didn't start to firebend until he was eight, which was by all standards still _very _young, but she was already bending at _five_. And she was better at it. He waited, silently, next to the wall. A wall hanging concealed him from the occupants of the Hall of Fire.

"I do not approve of this deception," Father said. The hall was dark; Azulon was not in attendance. The faded hair of the man nearby marked him as Jeong Jeong, the Royal Firemaster.

"It doesn't matter to me, young Prince, if you approve or not," Jeong Jeong said. "You are neither the Fire Lord nor his Crown Prince."

"You will moderate your tone," Ozai said. "You forget your place. You might be Firemaster, but you know between us who would burn in Agni Kai."

Jeong Jeong stared at Ozai, then gave a slight nod. "Forgive my presumption. Regardless, there is a matter of the two children."

"Lu Ten?" Ozai asked. "I have him well in hand."

"Yes. But what of Azula?" the Firemaster asked. "Every indication states that she will outstrip your Zuko for power in a matter of a year. She is a prodigy the likes of which the world may never see again."

Ozai was silent a moment. Zuko peeked out from behind the hanging. He pondered. "Have you spoken to my wife of this?" Ozai asked.

"No," Jeong Jeong said. "This is a matter of paternal responsibility. You are the Fire Lord's son. It is your decision to make. How will you proceed?"

Ozai ran a hand down his long, slender beard. "Ursa's influence on Zuko is too strong," he said. "Whatever I do she may be able to undermine. But Azula... it would simply be a matter of a few words to poison her against her mother."

"Is that your decision?" Jeong Jeong asked.

"I need somebody who can be my worthy vessel," Ozai said. "Someone who can oversee that which I may not. Zuko is weak. He is sentimental and soft. Azula has the fire inside her, and she has not been corrupted by womanish ways. Focus your attentions on her. I want her crafted into something worthwhile."

"As you wish, my prince," Jeong Jeong said. Ozai chuckled. "Yes?"

"I just remembered something Father said about my children. 'Azula was born lucky; Zuko was lucky to be born'," Ozai repeated. "We shall see how true his words were."

"If you are going to invest in your daughter..." Jeong Jeong began.

"Lu Ten would then stand in my way," Ozai said. "We will have to make plans for him."

"Very well, my prince."

Zuko was young, then. He didn't know what his father was talking about. The only thing which stuck with him was that cruel joke his father said. Azula was born lucky. She was. Lovely and powerful and intelligent. Zuko was lucky to be born. Sickly and weak and a moron. Ursa was with him constantly as he struggled to survive his first few years. Corrupted with womanish ways? He strove to prove them wrong at every opportunity. And just like everything else in his unlucky life, it would end in catastrophe.

If there was any real blessing in his life, it was when he met Mai. She used to be such a different person. So alive and vibrant. But he watched, year by year, as that was pounded out of her. Until she stopped laughing. Until she stopped smiling. Until she stopped caring. Unless she was around him. But he even failed in that. When he saw her in that hollow under the rock, it was like watching a woman trying to come back from the dead.

Was this his destiny? To destroy everything he touched, like a walking wasteland? His hunt for the Avatar was a bust. His sister was out to kill him. What had he done to deserve this? The question was rhetorical. He remembered. He spoke out against Deng about Deng's wasteful tactics in the Siege of Pu Ri. And his kindness earned him a challenge of Agni Kai.

From his father. The greatest firebender alive. Ruler of the Fire Nation. Zuko couldn't do it. He couldn't attack his own father. So his father taught him a lesson he could never forget. Zuko reached up and rubbed the scar which stretched along the left side of his face. Some family he had.

Such introspection was unmanning. He stood, looking around. Nobody anywhere near. He settled into a firebending pose, and struck out a simple strike, which came as easily as breathing. There was a wisp of flame that might have failed to light a candle. Zuko frowned. He punched again. Another pathetic wisp. What was this? It had been powerful just yesterday, when he struck down Gow. Now, he could barely summon up anything at all. He shook his head. He was tired, he was distracted. It was probably nothing.

"Nephew, why aren't you watching the fire?" Uncle called to him.

"I'm right here," Zuko answered. He moved back to his spot, curling back up against the rocks. He watched the fire, and thought about happier times. He thought about Mai.

* * *

The day had given way to darkness, and Yue stood in the sky, the barest sliver visible. Strange how he now just thought of the moon and Yue interchangeably. Ty Lee hadn't left his side as he talked about the time he spent with the Princess in the North. He told her stories about the time the two had together, the things she'd told him about her life, both as daughter of the High Chief, and as the High Shaman for her people. His tones became angry when he told her about Hahn, the man that Yue had been forced to marry. The way he took advantage of her without pity or compunction. He spoke of how he'd given that bastard a beating that he'd remember for the rest of his life, which was about a day.

"You're not over her," Ty Lee said, leaning close. She looked sad. "That's why you don't even look at me."

"Oh, I look at you," Sokka joked.

"No, you stare at my boobs and my bum," Ty Lee said matter-of-factly. "You don't look at _me_. You used to. You used to see Ty Lee."

Sokka hung his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't even know what I'm doing, most of the time. I mean: I'm alive, she's dead; I'm a mortal, she's a spirit; I'm on Earth, she's _the Moon!_" Sokka just shook his head. "Why do I do this to myself?"

"I think it's time you let go," Ty Lee said. Sokka nodded. She looked up at him, with big, brown eyes. She was waiting for something. For him to say something? To kiss her? He didn't know, and right now, he didn't really care to find out.

"You may be right," Sokka said. He stood, moving away from the acrobat. He moved around the tower, to the doors which lay at the front. He glanced down at Toph, who hadn't moved from where she lay, face down, head over the edge of the boat, since mid day. "Hey, Toph. Need anything?"

"Food that I don't need to experience twice," Toph said. Sokka laughed at that. It was nice to laugh.

"Hey, Toph."

"What is it, Loverboy?" Toph asked.

"What _is_ going on between us?" he asked.

"I like messing with you, and it's fun to get you riled," Toph said, staring downward. "Why? D'you want to take the world's greatest earthbender for a spin?"

"You're disgusting," Sokka said around a chuckle.

"Why thank you," Toph said. She didn't move, though.

"So. Just going to stay up here?" he asked.

"Until the boat stops moving," she confirmed.

"Good night."

"It's night?"

Sokka went into the tower, and up to the rooms he shared with his sister. She was humming to herself again as she practiced her plantbending. A potted orchid slowly swayed, as though following her hands. She was focused on it, and didn't even pay Sokka any attention as he flopped himself into bed, and drifted quickly into sleep.

"Sokka," the voice came to him. He sat up in his bed. He wasn't on Piandao's ship anymore. The room didn't seem completely substantial. Like reality itself didn't know what it was made of. He stepped forward, toward the door, the only solid thing he could see. He slid it aside.

"Sokka," the voice coaxed. The path, flagstones set into lush green grass. A warm breeze on the air. Cold water splashing down from a waterfall in the distance, and burbling over the fall out behind him. A circular island, with an arch at its heart. Under that arch was a long seat. He walked toward this place, which he knew so well. The arch wasn't real. There was a tree there. And the pond... There was no pond here. He looked up. No sky.

"Sokka," she called.

"Yue," he answered. And she was there, standing with him in this mirror of the Spirit Oasis. She was somehow both clothed in glowing light, and nude. She smiled, and he couldn't look her in the eye. Or anywhere else. He turned away. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong, Sokka?" she asked, moving toward him. He backed away, staring at his feet.

"I can't keep doing this," Sokka said. "I've already been here too long."

"What do you mean?" Yue asked, so kindly, so gently. He felt her tilt his chin up. She was still so beautiful. Bright blue eyes and pearl white hair. And that smile...

"What we had," Sokka said, trying to find the words. Trying to hold himself together. "It was beyond belief. That the peasant could be loved by the princess. It was like a story. And the story has to end, Yue. Real life has to start up again."

Yue stared into his eyes, but she nodded. A sad smile came to her face. "I understand, my love."

"Please," Sokka said, trying to keep his voice steady. It wasn't working. "Don't say that. Not now. I don't think I can take it," he turned away. "What we had, it's over. It was over a long time ago, and I just couldn't accept it. I have to move on."

He felt Yue gently turn him. She smiled, that way she did only for him. She pulled him close, into that embrace he once gave her a year ago, a lifetime ago. No passion. No need, no lust no fear. Just empathy and comfort. "I believe in you."

"Goodbye, Yue," he said, his voice now breaking with every syllable. "I can't come here anymore."

He could feel her watching him as he turned and walked back up the path. Every step tore the heart out of his chest. And the words, as he grasped the hatch of the door, fractured it to bits. "Goodbye, Sokka," she said.

Sokka opened his eyes again. It was the ship, and Katara was trying to get herself settled. He sat in his bed, and felt the sobs begin to heave out of his chest. She was gone. She was truly, completely gone. Yue was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. Katara looked up at him.

"Tui La, Sokka!" she said, running to him. "What's wrong?"

"It finally hit me," Sokka said, not even caring to conceal the truth. "She's never coming back. She's gone. Yue's gone."

Katara just nodded, biting her bottom lip. He wept, and she pulled him close. Sokka finally began to mourn the death of the love of his life, and his sister was there for his grief.

* * *

Zuko wallowed in his gloom, staring at the fire. Dark Prince. That's all he really was. A Dark Prince. He didn't understand the fire, so how could he lead the Fire? He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned suddenly. Yu motioned him to come in. Ying was well into giving birth, her legs splayed and her labors obvious to anybody who was in Zuko's unfortunate position.

"Ugh. Sorry," Zuko said, averting his eyes.

"Never seen one angry before, have you?" Uncle joked. Taan shot him the dirty look that comment deserved. Zuko looked at everybody else. They seemed to have things well in hand.

"Uncle, why did you want me here?" he asked.

"_Zuko, my only nephew_," Iroh said, in Houjian. "_This is a lesson you need to understand. More important than any technique of firebending or skill in weapons or martial lore. More than any lesson of statecraft, this is something that you must know._"

"_I don't understand, Uncle,_" he said, uncertainly.

"Keep pushing, Ying. The crown is visible," Iroh said, turning away from Zuko. The family didn't even question it. This must be what trust felt like. He moved to a less unseemly place, and watched as this peasant woman gave birth. Yu's face lit up as she looked down, and Iroh began to smile. "Just a little bit more. The baby is almost here."

Seconds passed like hours, and finally, a thin cry sounded in the air. Iroh began to bundle it all up. "What was I supposed to learn?" Zuko asked.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Taan asked. Iroh faced the father, with a big smile on his face.

"It's a handsome little girl," Iroh said, passing the child to its mother. Both parents beamed at their new child. Yu was practically beside herself.

"What are you going to call it?" Yu asked.

"I don't know," Ying said. She was still covered in sweat. "Something unique. Something special."

Zuko stared at the ground. "When I was young, there was only one person who was always there for me. One person who I knew I could depend on no matter what," he looked up at Ying. "I lost her, recently. Because of the war. Because of the Fire Nation. My mother, Ursa."

Iroh's gaze fell, to what memories Zuko could not say. Ying nodded, staring down at the crying infant in her arms. "Ursa," she said. "That's a wonderful name. Our little baby, Ursa."

Zuko turned, and left the lean-to. He stood outside, staring at the sun hovering near the horizon. After a few moments, Iroh came out and joined him. "I don't understand, Uncle. What was I supposed to learn?" Zuko asked.

"It is not something that can be explained, Nephew. Only felt," Iroh said. "There is an unquestionable joy which cannot be overstated in the creation of something new and beautiful in the world. You have lost so much, my poor, lost child," Iroh laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "You are walking a path which I may not be able to follow. But you will never truly be alone. I will always be with you in spirit. I have tried to teach you everything I could."

"What's going on, Uncle?" Zuko asked, panic rising slowly inside him. "Are you going somewhere?"

"No. I hope not," Iroh said. He let out a chuckle. "But then again, I'm an old man. I don't know how many more sunrises I have left to see."

"Don't talk like that," Zuko said.

"Remember what you saw in there, Nephew," Iroh said. "Remember how they felt. Remember that feeling, no matter what comes. Please, promise me that."

"But I don't understand."

"It doesn't matter that you don't understand. Just remember," Iroh stressed. Zuko took a breath, staring up toward the blue sky.

"I'll remember," Zuko said. "I promise, I'll remember."

* * *

Katara quietly closed the door, leaving her brother to his fitful sleep. The way he came awake in the night, it was so strange. But she wouldn't doubt for an instant the pain in his eyes. It was like, until that very moment, he had refused to believe that Yue was truly dead. And then, it all came crashing down. She let him weep himself to sleep. But now, she had other things to do. She walked down the hall to the next door, the one which Aang was using. She opened the door.

He was asleep, the pillows and blankets balled up and clutched in front of him. Like he was trying to hold onto something that he desperately wanted not to get away. Katara was fairly sure that he was dreaming of Appa. Whether it was a dream or a nightmare, she couldn't say. And she wouldn't interfere. She closed the door, leaving him to his much needed rest.

Next down the hall was the room supposedly shared by Toph and Ty Lee. Toph, however, seemed content to sleep in the ship's head, her head propped against a latrine. Probably for the best, considering. Still, Katara opened the door, and saw the acrobat inside. She was still wide awake, doing stretches which beggared the mind as to how a human body could be bent so far without shattering. Katara closed the door behind her.

"What are you going to do?" Katara asked the acrobat. Ty Lee turned to her. "When we get off of this boat, what are you going to do?"

"The same thing Piandao is," Ty Lee said quietly. "We're getting onto his mongoose dragon, and riding away. I can't join you any farther."

"Why? What's out there?" Katara asked. Ty Lee made a deflecting gesture, but Katara took a step forward, bending the water from the jugs near the door up and around her in a ring. "Don't lie to me, Ty Lee. Piandao didn't come out here for a vacation. What are you hiding outside Ba Sing Se?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you," Ty Lee said. "It would be bad if I told you."

"Ty Lee," she said. Ty Lee made a placating motion.

"But... if you were to find it on your own. Maybe, after we got there... I couldn't stop that. And it wouldn't be my fault," she said. Her eyes were desperate.

"Azula is there, isn't she?" Katara asked. Ty Lee looked away. "You're going back to her."

"There is good in her," Ty Lee said, quietly. "I know it's there. She's afraid, and she doesn't know what to do when she's alone. We need to help her. _I_ need to help her."

"She doesn't deserve you," Katara said.

"Maybe you don't deserve Aang," Ty Lee snapped back, but her hands flashed to her mouth and she looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"Not one word," Katara said menacingly. "You've been good to us. You've helped us when nothing else could. You've saved our lives and made it possible for us to continue on our quest. But you're still Azula's soldier. Once you leave this boat, you can never come back."

"I understand," Ty Lee said sadly.

"I don't think you do. You'll be throwing in your lot with Azula, permanently. With the woman who wants to kill Aang. Can you live with that?" Katara asked.

"No," Ty Lee said. "But I can change her mind. I know I can."

Katara shook her head, letting the water drop. She opened the door. "Then you're as mad as she is," she said as she slammed it closed, leaving the acrobat alone, in the darkness and silence. Leaving her outside again, and alone.

* * *

**Yes. There was some foreshadowing in this chapter. See if you can spot it. It's not what you think.**


	13. The Secret of the Fire Nation

**Sokka's plan was a bit more involved, this time. Things went boom.**

* * *

Mai twirled her knives, bored out of her mind. She'd thought getting away from New Ozai would mean she finally had something interesting to do. But in reality, she'd just gotten shuffled around, acting as Azula's bodyguard instead of her mother's, waiting for something profound to happen which never did. She sat in her chair, staring gloomily at the world. It was brown and dull. Just like the walls of Ba Sing Se which drew closer by the minute.

At least Azula looked just about as bored as she was. If she wasn't Mai would have been unbelievably annoyed. The ride in this monstrosity was jerky and uneven. The sound was almost unbearable every time they lowered the command section back into the hull. In short, this drill was one of the last places Mai would have chosen to be.

The door hatch in the side of the room swung open, and a very tall man ducked in. Mai recognized Master Piandao; he was famous for a number of different reasons. He taught Ty Lee and Zuko their respective fighting styles. He was also infamous, because he refused to teach Azula. Since Mai was already a master of Azul Orchid style and could care less about swinging a hunk of metal around, she didn't care. He gave each of the girls a brief nod. Then, a flash of pink zipped into the room.

"Mai! I missed you so much!" Ty Lee said, hugging Mai tightly. Mai rolled her eyes and indulged the acrobat. She was always an expressive one. Ty Lee then turned and did the same to Azula, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. "And Azula! I hope you didn't get into any trouble while I was gone."

"No. I wish she had," Mai said flatly. "It would have broken the boredom."

"It's good that you arrived when you did, Master Piandao," War Minister Qin said, standing near the fore. This is a triumph of Fire Nation engineering. A solid, impenetrable and utterly unbendable shell of steel, surrounding the most powerful boring device ever constructed."

"You can say that again," Mai muttered. Qin was not impressed.

"It is indestructible, inevitable, and built by the finest engineers the Fire Nation has to offer. From the moment it was completed, it was a foregone conclusion that the Walls of Ba Sing Se would fall. Once the drill penetrates the city's walls, the men can storm the city and claim Ba Sing Se in the name of Ozai."

Piandao looked at the workmanship of the command deck, and as it rose away from the body of the craft, looked down on the tubular structure of the entire drill. He scowled. "This design is gauche and inelegant. It's slow. People have seen it in the distance. I would not be surprised if some enterprising young man was already working on a plan to unmake this device."

Qin looked like a green parrot with its feathers ruffled. "Well, I can't expect you to understand the importance of this device, and the amount of time and funds which went into its construction."

"You assume falsely," Piandao said. "I was a soldier once. As were you, if memory recalls. I know what this would cost. However, your braggadocio is pointless, Qin. My stance is that I am unimpressed."

"We'll see how unimpressed you are when you're walking in the Outer Court because of this drill," Qin said.

"The Dragon of the West also walked the outer court, and he did it with nothing but tactical acumen and strategic genius," Piandao said, taking the seat next to Azula, opposite Mai. "Yours is nothing but brute force. And earthbenders have a vastly superior understanding of brute force, rest assured."

As much as Mai loved seeing Qin put into his place, she couldn't help feel that something was out of place in this situation. She sat a little straighter, looking up at the walls. They should be throwing rocks by now. A purely useless gesture, but one they ought to be making. Mai scowled. Something was wrong.

* * *

Aang pressed his brow under the arrow, trying to keep his temper in check. While he accepted that it was a part of who he was, and it didn't have quite the insidious hold that it once had, blind flaming ignorance still brought it out in him faster than just about anything. He knew what he'd seen, following the Mongoose Dragon away from the bay. The General, though, didn't believe. He was blissfully, almost willfully ignorant.

"Your help is appreciated," General Sung said. He gestured down, off the wall. Aang could just make out an array of people huddled in ditches near the wall. "However, it is not needed."

"Not needed?" Aang repeated.

"Not. Needed." Sung repeated, cheerfully. "Your fears are quite unfounded. Consider that many times, enemies tried to breach this wall. Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, it didn't matter. They were always repelled. Nobody ever so much as set foot in Ba Sing Se."

"The Dragon of the West did it," Sokka pointed out. Sung flinched.

"Yes. Uh. Well, technically, he did, but he was quickly expunged!" Sung said. "Besides, this city is not called Ba Sing Se without cause. If it were vulnerable, they would have called it Na Sing Se," there was a long pause as Sung grinned. Somebody coughed in the background. "Ba Sing Se means Impenetrable City, and Na Sing Se means..."

"Yeah, we got it," Toph said. "It just wasn't funny. Besides, we've still got that drill coming at us."

"Not for long," Sung said, pointing down at the ditches. "I have already dispatched an elite group of earthbenders to deal with the drill. I call them the Terra Team."

"That's not a bad group name. Very catchy," Sokka said, rubbing an imaginary beard. He reached down and picked up one of the telescopes that the aides had gathered nearby. Aang followed suit. He watched as the Terra Team moved like a machine, surging forward as one, and smashing aside the ant-like tanks beside that great behemoth. They launched out pillars of stone to stall the crawling beast, but they crumbled as it just powered straight through them.

Sokka caught a flash of pink and pointed it out to Aang. He moved his telescope to the side of the machine. Ty Lee was there, just as they knew she would be, and the dark-robed girl Mai was with her. Together, they disassembled the Terra Team in a matter of precious few seconds. Some falling to obviously non-lethal knife wounds, others, crippled by Ty Lee's chi-blocking blows. Aang turned to Sung. Sung stared, mouth agape, at his plans gone afoul.

"We're doomed," Sung said, growing pale. "There's nothing we can do to..."

Sokka interrupted Sung by turning and slapping the older gentleman across the face. "Get ahold of yourself, man!" he shouted. Sung rubbed his cheek, and looked contrite.

"Right. Sorry."

Toph was smirking from where she wiggled her bare toes nearby. "Maybe you'd like the Avatar's help now?" she asked.

Sung's face hung. "Yes, please," he said, with all the enthusiasm of a chastised child. Aang could work with that. Aang turned to Sokka.

"Now we need to figure out how to stop that thing," Aang said. Sokka turned back from the telescope to stare at the rest of the group. Everybody was looking at him. Except for Toph, who pointed an ear at him.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Sokka asked.

"You're the Idea Guy," Katara said.

"So I'm the only one who can _ever_ come up with a plan? That's a lot of pressure, guys," Sokka complained.

"You're also the complaining guy," Toph pointed out.

"That I don't mind," Sokka said. He pondered for a moment, then began to look around. Aang looked down at the field again. The two girls were no longer there, and medics were retrieving the fallen earthbenders. Sokka began talking to the earthbenders nearby as the Terra Team began to be lifted up to the top level. Katara was on one of them, her healing hands glowing with empowered water, as soon as he crossed the lip of the wall.

"It's not good," she said. She glanced at the others which were coming up. Sung moved quickly to her side, looking over his man.

"He doesn't look injured. Why is he here?" Sung asked.

"His chi is blocked," Katara said tersely. She pointed at another, who had a knife embedded into his thigh. "Those ones could be up and chucking rocks in an hour. But ones like this, they won't be able to so much as tip a pebble for at least a day."

The soldier looked up at her, struggling to move his hands. "There was a girl. She moved like the wind, and she hit me with a couple of jabs. After that, I couldn't earthbend. I could barely move..."

Katara nodded. "That's Ty Lee," she said to Sung, who hovered over her. Sokka wandered in, still pondering. "She may not look like much, and she's not a bender, but she's probably the most dangerous person in that drill."

"Unless Azula's there," Aang corrected. The worrying thought had occurred to him.

"Right. But Ty Lee, she knows the body's weaknesses and can strike like a viper. It's like she takes you down from the inside."

Sokka turned to her slowly, his eyes growing wide. A wide grin stretched across his face. "Katara, you're a genius."

"Thank you," Katara said. She paused, looking back at him. "Why?"

"That's how we're going to take down the drill. The same way that Ty Lee takes down her targets," Sokka said, a clever smirk on his face. "From the inside."

* * *

Piandao did not look happy. Ty Lee was quite content to lounge in the chair he had vacated, pleased with herself for doing a good job and not causing any undue harm. They were trying to kill her, after all. "Why do you look so displeased?" Azula asked the master.

"Many reasons," Piandao said. "None of which would matter to the Crown Princess."

"I'm sure they wouldn't," Azula said. Piandao gave one more glance to the wall, which was steadily approaching, then turned to Azula and bowed.

"Forgive my impertinence, but I feel that my place is not here," Piandao said. He shot a glance to Qin, who was making great pains to look self-satisfied. Azula just shrugged, and lowered the command center briefly so he could disembark. When it rose back, Ty Lee had discovered the periscope and all of the interesting things she could see with it. Shes scanned around the battlefield, taking in all the sights. She wondered if it would work as well on the other side of the wall.

"Wow," she said, staring into the distance. "Look at that dust cloud. It's so... poofy," she turned to Azula flaring her fingers for emphasis. "Poof!"

Azula's golden eyes narrowed. The great plume of dust stretched most of the length of the drill, a not insignificant distance. "Somebody is trying to hide something from me," Azula eventually said.

"Don't be silly, Princess," Qin said confidently. "There is nothing that the earthbenders can do to punch through the steel construction of the drill. We are impervious."

Azula stared at Qin, as though she were deciding exactly what horrible fate would await him. Ty Lee decided to keep Azula's mind away from that. "Um, Azula, If you're so concerned, why don't you check it out?" she asked.

"Because that's probably what they want," Azula said. "To leave this command center undefended and cut off. But they won't find me unprepared. Not today, nor ever," she turned to Qin. "War Minister, my companions and I will be leaving the helm in your... capable hands. When we do, raise the helm and station guards on every corridor leading here. We cannot allow this drill to fall into enemy hands."

"I will obey, Princess Azula," Qin said stolidly. The helm began to pivot down and into the structure of the drill. It locked with a loud clank, and the door swung open again. Azula gave Ty Lee a glance which made her regretfully leave the periscope. It was interesting. Rattling up the pipes came a message.

"War Minister, several of our mechanics were accosted several minutes ago. We believe somebody may have boarded the Drill," it said. Ty Lee tipped her head. Wasn't that supposed to be impossible? "The schematics he carried were missing."

"Mai?" Azula snapped. Mai looked up from where she was uninterestedly playing with her shuriken. Mai looked up, sighed, and got to her feet. There was a tremble and a groan. Qin turned back to them, a smile on his face. "What was that?" Azula asked, testy.

Qin reached over and took the horn, speaking loudly into it, but staring at Azula. "Congratulations, men. The Drill has made contact with the walls. The countdown to our victory has begun."

Azula looked like she wanted to set him on fire. "I suppose congratulations are in order," Azula said, her tone sweet. Too sweet. Her aura was all spiky and angry. Then, her sweetness dropped away. "Assuming the Drill is intact long enough to penetrate through. The Avatar is here, Qin. And I guess it falls to me to deal with him."

Azula moved out of the finery of the command center and into the bowels of the ship. Mai navigated it with her eyes closed. Ty Lee was sorta impressed with the trick. Azula kept turning to Mai and asking 'anything?', but Mai kept shaking her head. Until they reached the hatch which lead to the outer shell. She frowned, and stuck her head out. "They're out here. And they're cutting something."

"Where?" Azula asked.

"Just follow me," Mai said. The girls navigated the structure which lay between the hardened shell of the Drill and its delicate innards. Mai of course was the quickest, and Azula actually the slowest. Ty Lee kept pace with Mai handily. For some reason, Ty Lee was able to leap farther than she ever had before, and with a lot less effort. Finally, they reached a cross beam near the top of the rig, and stared down. Mai nodded, and pointed a black-lacquered nail. "There's your intruders," she said. She pointed to another beam, which had three people on it.

"Good Work, Team Avatar," Sokka's voice came through the darkness. "Now Aang just needs to–"

Azula was smirking as she heard the voice, and blasted a bolt of fire at its source. Sokka dived out of the way, and Mai raised an eyebrow. "Well, you were right. It is the Avatar," she said, uninterested in tone but one-hand juggling three knives. Ty Lee waved her hand above her head.

"Hi Sokka!" she shouted happily. Sokka timidly waved back. Mai just rolled her eyes with a groan.

"There is something wrong with you," she muttered.

* * *

_They had a plan. It was obvious that the Drill was comprised of two separate structures. An outer shell to protect it from attack, and an inner workings, which would be lower and more fragile. The way it moved was the giveaway. Down its sides, like a metallic centipede, massive sharp spikes shot into the earth, anchoring it one section at a time, from front to back. Once the back one was locked, the foremost section was rammed forward by the machine's engines. Then, at its farthest extension, it dug in, and dragged the other sections behind it. It was big. It was complicated. And if stressed in just the right way, it would break._

"Are we ready?" Aang asked. Sokka nodded, as did his sister. Toph just smirked, then took a flying leap over the edge of the wall. Sokka slapped his forehead, but Katara followed suit, dragging several large jars worth of water down as she went. Sokka looked at Aang. "What about you?"

"Do I have a choice?" he asked. But then, he shrugged, and side by side, the two remaining dove off the wall, hot on the trail of those who'd gone before. Toph was furthest down. She called up a massive pillar, and began to move it down, catching herself with it even as she fell. Katara snap-froze the water she'd brought into long ramps which slowly leveled her out, then spun her back to where Toph had landed. Sokka and Aang fell fastest, because they would require the least effort to break. At the last possible instinct, Aang began to weave air, much like his air scooter, but much larger, and reaching down in layers. They smashed through the first one, with a deep thud in their bodies. The second slowed them more. The third brought them to an almost complete standstill, and the last slid them to the ground.

"Aang," Sokka said, looking a bit shaken, "next time, can we take the slow way down?"

Aang just laughed. Toph cracked her knuckles and swept her dark hair over her shoulder, stamping experimentally on the baked earth. "Alright. When I do this, you're not going to be able to see much, so keep up," she said, as she extended her burned hands out toward the Drill. She strained briefly, as though she were lifting a massive weight, then snapped her hands forward and stomped the ground. A huge, but shallow rift shot along the ground, hurling copious amounts of dust into the air, obscuring all vision. Toph smirked, then began to ran. And the others ran with her.

Aang felt, rumbling along the earth, those tanks which the Fire nation still surrounded the Drill with. He reached out and felt the water that they used to keep them steady, and he snapped his fist shut, freezing it solid. Then, a narrow slash of earthbending to invert them. Unable to right themselves until the water thawed, they would be little threat. Finally, they practically ran into Toph. "Everybody, get close," she said. Then, the ground fell out from under them.

"I can't see a thing down here," Sokka complained.

"Oh, no. What a nightmare," Toph said in mock horror.

"Sorry," Sokka said contritely. Aang shook his head and lit a ball of fire in his hand. Toph bent the earth and a huge section, directly under the crawling machine, opened up for them. Sokka walked along the path, looking upward as he did. Finally, he pointed. "There. When this thing breaches the walls, the soldiers are just going to pour through this thing, and they'll come out here. We need to get this open."

Toph rudely shoved Sokka aside, then reached up, snapping her fingers in a sharp motion. A sharp edge of stone surged from the ground and jammed into the edge of the gate. Then, nothing happened. "Wait for it, Twinkletoes," She said calmly, as if predicting Aang's question. The hissing sounds of the pistons digging into the stone came closer, then passed over their heads. Toph suddenly bore down, and the machine above them lurched forward. The door, though, was being held in place, so it was peeled open. Not all the way, but more than large enough for any of them to get through.

Aang hopped up into the hole, and helped Sokka and Katara into the guts of the ship. He looked down at Toph, his hand extended. He remembered that she couldn't see it. "Toph, come on!"

"What? Me, go inside that enormous metal monster? I can't bend in that thing!" she kicked the dirt. "You just do your Avatar magic inside. I'll make sure this thing moves nice and slow."

Aang nodded, then went into the door. A few seconds later, another pillar came through the ruptured doorway, wedging against the internal workings, waiting for the thing to start moving again. Toph was going to go one-on-one with a mechanical abomination. It amused Aang when he considered that she might actually win. Sokka was already opening a hatch and diving into the innards of the machine.

"What are we going to do now? We're in, but that's as far as your plan got," Katara asked.

"What? My plan was _way_ better than that," he said. "We need to know how this thing's laid out on the inside to bring it down. And look at how complex this thing is. One person can't know everything about it and hope to keep up with the problems which would crop up in it. So they've got to give their mechanics schematics so they can carry out repairs as they need them."

Katara looked at the maze of pipes around them. "And how are we going to capitalize on that?" she asked.

Sokka pondered, then turned and smashed a pipe near him a few times with his machete until it buckled and began to belch steam into the room. There was silence as the room became opaque.

"Great," Katara said flatly. "The Fire Nation's plan is doomed."

"Now we wait," Sokka said in the murk. After around a minute, the heavy footfalls of a large man approached. Everybody pressed themselves against the walls. The mechanic stopped in front of the pipe, and a flare ignited. He began to pour solder onto the rupture, stopping the outflow of steam. But Katara moved, bending the steam together. She wrapped it around the mechanic, and snap froze it around him. Sokka sauntered next to him and rifled through the man's document case. He scowled. "Bah. All of these things are partials. Subsystems and engines. I need something bigger. Something which shows the hole structure."

"So, not a good plan?" Katara asked.

"I'm making do with what I have," Sokka said. The frozen mechanic dropped his solder can as they walked away. "Where are we going to get a proper schematic?"

They turned a corner, and came face to face with two people in what looked like firebender armor, but lighter. The teenagers stared at the soldiers for a moment, and then the firebenders dropped into stances. Aang prepared his own blast of air, but he stopped mid swing as a figure in brown robes streaked around the corner behind them. One of them was caught in a sweep, hurling him onto his back. Piandao. He twisted back, snapping his still sheathed sword into the side of the other soldier's head, then spun it back down into the face of the one who'd fallen. All in a fraction of a second. He stopped, bowing briefly to Aang.

"Piandao?" all three asked at once.

"I figured you'd come through in this section," he said. "It was just a matter of waiting for something to break."

"Am I that predictable?" Sokka asked.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I just considered what I would do to destroy a machine like this with the Avatar and a powerful waterbender on my side," he said. He stopped leaning on his sword and reached to his back, pulling out a document case. "You'll need these. Proper blueprints. If you'll excuse me, I need to be elsewhere."

"Thank you, Master Piandao," Aang said, bowing with a Fire Nation salute. Piandao smirked, and returned it, before walking away in the metal maze.

Sokka unfurled the scrolls and scanned them as he walked. A wide grin came to his face. "I was right. Look here," he said, pointing to something. Aang couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he was never very interested in technologies, anyway. "These struts support the outer shell away from the vital portions. And the slurry pipeline runs right under it, the whole length of the craft. They must have put it up there to keep it out of the way of the soldiers."

"What does that mean, Sokka?" Katara asked.

"Cylinders are resilient by nature, but if you tension them, they buckle. That's why there are supports," he said. "If you destroy the supports, and then put any significant pressure on the outer shell, the whole thing will cave in."

"So...?" Aang asked.

"So we start cutting supports," Sokka said, folding the schematics and opening another portal, this one opening into the space between the machinery and the outer hull. "Which is where you two come in. You know what they say about water, don't you?"

"It snuffs the mightiest blaze, and grinds down the hardest stone," Katara said. She turned to Aang and her brother. "Where do we start?"

It was hard work. Bitterly hard. Aang and Katara took turns hurling a blob of water back and forth, digging a little deeper with each pass, into the massive strut. It was so huge that Appa could have rested easily on it, let alone Aang's friends. Finally, the thing was worked through. "Come on! Why won't this thing die?" It gave a solid shudder, and then moved. About a cun. Aang brightened. "Yes! We did it!"

"I don't think so," Katara said. Another voice came across the section, echoing through the pipes.

"Congratulations, men. The Drill has made contact with the walls. The countdown to our victory has begun."

"Why isn't anything easy?" Aang shouted.

Sokka rubbed his imaginary beard. He snapped his fingers. "Maybe we're thinking about this wrong."

"I think I see what you mean," Katara said. "We're putting all of our effort into snapping one girder."

"But if the chain reaction you're claiming will be as devastating as you hope, we won't even need to put 100% of our work in one space. It's like when you were fighting on Kyoshi," Aang said, pointing at Sokka. "A series of small blows to compromise their integrity, then, when they're off balance, a big finish to bring them down. It's own weight will become its downfall. Literally."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sokka said. He suddenly smirked. "Good thing I've got something planned for that, too."

"Oh, another Sokka plan," Katara said.

"Just you wait till you see this," he smiled. He pointed at another brace. "We should do that one next."

The routine continued, Aang and Katara hurling the blob of water back and forth, Sokka pouring over the papers. Aang lost track of how many struts he weakened. Finally, Sokka seemed satisfied. "Good work, Team Avatar," he said proudly.

"Stop calling us that," Katara said.

"Now, all Aang needs to do is–" Sokka said, but then he slammed himself to the brace as a bolt of blue fire surged through where his chest was. He cautiously got up.

"_Well, you were right,_" Mai said, standing on a brace higher than Aang's own. "_It is the Avatar._"

Next to her, Ty Lee was grinning brightly. She waved excitedly. "_Hi Sokka!_" she shouted. Sokka timidly waved back. He turned and pointed toward another hatch.

"So... run?" he offered. Before waiting to hear the answer, he and his sister were off like a shot. Fitting, because Azula was blasting fire at them. No stone inside the Drill. No water he could get easily. It would have to be air. He smashed the flames out of path with his blades of air, giving the siblings a chance to make a run for it. He twirled his staff just as one of Mai's knives almost stabbed him in the eye, and then had to sweep Ty Lee away before she could land on Aang's strut. With that, the Avatar did as smart Avatars do, and ran like his pants were on fire.

Aang caught up to the Tribesmen in a flash, as Sokka skidded to a stop at an intersection. He stopped, turning to Aang. "You know what you have to do, Aang," He said. He pulled out a schematic and handed it to the Avatar, pointing. "The perfect place is right here." Aang nodded, and Sokka got a grin. "Let's kick some gigantic mechanical ass!"

Aang's reply was lost as a swarm of flechettes ripped through the air, some of them tearing through Aang's clothing and nicking his chest. He recoiled in pain, and turned. Azula was marching toward them, blue fire leaking from her hands. Her face was an expressionless mask. A glance to Sokka and Katara. A shared understanding. She unclasped her skin of water and threw it to him. Then, Aang ran one way, they ran the other.

* * *

_They had a plan. Ty Lee wasn't an idiot. She knew what they were trying to do as much as they did. The Drill needed to displace a truly monumental amount of crushed rock, and rock was hard on machinery. So it would be mixed with water into a slurry which was pumped along the entire length of the machine, and vomited forth at the back. But the system was only intended to withstand so much pressure. Any more, and the system would be in a state of cataclysm._

Azula marched to the intersection, and Mai rounded the corner at a skid, once again letting fly a barrage of darts at the fleeing Tribesmen. Azula glanced in both directions, a scowl boiling beneath her placid mask. She pointed after the Tribesmen. "Find the saboteurs and kill them," she said. "The Avatar is mine."

Ty Lee began to run, and for the first time she could remember, she kept up with Mai. They shot down the corridors, only slowed down by Sokka turning and hurling his club at them, forcing them to either dive under it or be struck in the chest. It slowed them down just enough for Katara to pull open the hatch to the slurry pipeline, and dive in. Mai hurled one of her heavy knives at Sokka. He smashed it aside with his boomerang. He then grabbed the knife and threw it back, with almost the exact same deadly precision of Mai herself. She caught it out of the air, just the briefest flash of surprise on her features, before he, too, dove into the mud that flowed through the machine. Both ladies moved to the hatch.

"You have got to be kidding me," Mai said, in obvious disgust. "I am _not_ going in there."

"But you heard what Azula said. We have to."

Mai shook her head. "She can throw all the lightning she wants at me. I'm not crawling through that slimy wall juice."

Ty Lee looked at her friend for a moment, then back down the hall, then into the pipe. She decided her loyalties, and dove into the tube. It was actually really fun. Muddy, but fun. The pressure shot her down the length of the machine at a really incredible rate, in complete darkness. She started laughing at her ride. Oh, if her parents could see her now, covered head to foot in guck. The light appeared before her, and she surged out onto the ground. She tried to land gracefully, but the slick ground made it so even she fell onto her face. She pushed herself up. Sokka and Katara were already standing, looking almost like golems. Sokka looked about as disgusted at his current state as Mai would have been.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Katara shouted. Ty Lee moved forward, her feet giving her just enough traction to move on them. She lashed out at the waterbender, but found Sokka intercepting her, knocking her to the ground.

"Don't do this, Ty Lee," Sokka said from his caking of grime. She answered him by flipping him off of her and trying to drive an elbow into his ribs. He rolled out of the way. She kipped up and began to try getting his arms, his legs, something paralyzed. Just like he had a year ago, he moved like a dancer, always just a little bit away from where she wanted him.

"Hey! We must look like we're dancing together!" she said, excitedly. But suddenly she found her feet being swept out from under her.

"May I cut in?" Katara asked. She bent the water of the slurry, pulling it off of the ground and forcing it back into the hole at the back of the Drill. She was corking it, with Ty Lee as part of the cork. Ty Lee hung, upside down, just below the lip of the exit. "Why don't you try blocking my chi now, you circus freak!"

"Just hold it there," Sokka said. "By the time Aang delivers the death blow, the entire rig will be ready to pop."

Ty Lee hung. Circus freak. Did she really matter that little to these people? Sokka turned to her, a look in his eyes like he was torn. Between family and friends? She couldn't say. Of course, she couldn't move, either. She waited as she could _hear_ the pressure build in the Drill.

* * *

_The Plan was intricate, but so was the monster it was designed to slay. There were cues for time and plans intended for precise moments. Deceptions and schemes requiring perfect accuracy and timing. And there was need for a nail. A really big one. In just the right spot. Sung would provide that. He also provided the undercutting of the wall, and the strength to make it look whole. Now, Aang just needed to do his part._

Aang shot through the guts of the ship like the winds themselves, blazing up ladders and along corridors. He eventually got to a hatch opening to the top of the machine. He looked at the page. The Fire Nation had unknowingly marked the perfect place to destroy their own machine, right at the base of their war standard. Aang summoned an air scooter and shot along the great tube, coming to a stop at the right spot. He looked at the skin of water in his hand. This would take forever if he did it the way he had down below. "Ugh. What I wouldn't give to be a metalbender," he muttered. He thought for a moment, then came up with an idea.

It was a trick, one he'd started showcasing in Kyoshi, but this time, it was two elements at once, and weaponized. He created a new air scooter, but this time, instead of balancing the winds to leave him stationary, he balanced them so the scooter would be stationary, but he wouldn't. Then, he finger-locked the water, and jumped onto the scooter.

He spun with fantastic speed, the water following his outstretched finger with his mind-bendingly rapid revolutions. It dug deeply and quickly through the metal, creating a ring under him. It bored deeper and deeper, until with a loud clang, the disc fell away, revealing a hole just over a stride long. He hopped off the scooter before it dissolved and dropped him back into the machine. He then spent the next ten seconds trying to get the world to stop spinning.

A black and white form landed on his shoulder, tugging at his ears. "It's alright, Momo. Now, I just need..."

Momo let out a horrendous screech and dived down Aang's collar. He turned, and flattened himself as a blade of blue fire tore through the air. Azula was advancing on him, her face expressionless. It was like being attacked by an evil doll. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se, Avatar. I think I will enjoy redecorating it."

"You're not getting through that wall," Aang said. Azula stopped, and a smirk came to her face.

"Watch me," she said. She kicked out blasts of flame, which Aang knocked aside. She really hoped that the soldiers above were paying attention to Sokka's plan, because Aang was sure he couldn't take on Azula by himself. She fired blasts and columns of fire, which Aang either smashed away with blades of air or just got out of the way of. The philosophy of airbending was evade and avoid, and he utilized that to its utmost. "How typical," she laughed, mocking him as she drove him back, toward the wall. "You never were able to accept your destiny. Your kind is dead, Avatar. And you will join them."

She moved through a firebending motion, but had to abandon it as an enormous stone almost crushed her. She looked up. Dozens upon dozens of boulders were being hurled down from above, turning the gently sloped Drill into an avalanche zone. Azula still tried to fight, but with the added confusion, Aang was able to move as he needed to, getting closer, running faster. She twisted, blasting a bolt of blue flame very near his head, but he spun around her, and blasted her in the back with a sledgehammer of air, sending her flying. He then cast out the last of Katara's water, and coated the side of the drill with it, freezing it solid. Azula had nothing to grab on to, and she slid off the Drill.

"Now, all that I need is," Aang said, and another rock landed in front of him, "well, _that_, actually."

* * *

"Come on, Twinkletoes, I'm running out of room over here," Toph said, straining against the Drill. It was pushing its way through the wall even as she fought it. She could only slow it down. There was just too much metal for her to fight against. As she fought, she felt something land very near by. The heartrate was thunderous, like an all consuming rage. And she recognized it. "Oh, I'm not missing this," she said.

Toph erupted from the earth, landing next to Azula. "Well, hello there, Princess Bitch. Up for another rematch?"

Azula flipped over like a cat. "You just don't know the meaning of the term 'beaten like an unwanted kitten', do you?"

Azula lashed out with fire. Toph brought up a barricade of stone, which broke the blast, and she began to hurl stones from it. Azula was driven back. She tried an axe kick, to send a curtain of fire over Toph's protective wall. Toph simply punched upward, sending the wall through the fire, and she calmly walked into the spot the fire could no longer land. "You know, there's something wrong with you if you're abusing kittens for fun," she said.

"You insolent little peasant," Azula shouted. If her heart beat any faster, it would probably explode. She began to hurl ropey columns of fire at Toph. She twisted away, eventually jumping into the air to avoid a low sweep. As she twisted, she reached into the earth with one hand, and drew it up her body, encasing her in a rock armor. She then surged toward Azula. Azula stopped, and she began to motion. Toph began to smell lightning. She abandoned her armor, letting it continue on without her in it. There was a thunderclap, and she felt the armor be unmade.

"Please, I've probably got as much royalty in my blood as you do, you cross-dressing catamite," Toph said. That was a new one, a _filthy_ one, and one she'd have to remember. Toph began to stomp left and right, and with each stomp, a huge plane of earth began to swing down and attack the Princess. Azula responded by blasting each in turn with a wave of percussion. Finally, she stared down Toph. Toph had a smile on her face. She was winning.

"I don't have time to bandy insults with nobodies," she said. There was a loud roar, and she felt the heat against the earth. She was rocketing into the sky?

"I knew you'd cry uncle!" Toph shouted at the fleeing princess. She laughed to herself for a moment, but then perked her ear up. Did Sweetness just shout something from the far end of the drill?

"JUST BEND THE SLURRY, WOMAN!" was Sokka's very obvious reply to the unheard statement. Toph grinned, and began to move.

* * *

_The plan was elegant. Undercut the wall, before the Fire Nation did anything. In a way, it was the Dragon of the West's plan, but being used _against _the Fire Nation, rather than for them. Every earthbender within an hour's run of the drilling site worked together as one to hold the enormous weight of the wall in place. Rock was a stubborn element, as Toph had said. Bending it was about making it do what it wanted to do anyway, but in a way that benefited you. So Sokka did exactly that._

Sokka knew his plan was going to work. He could feel every part of it sliding into place. He faced his sister, and spoke. "That's good technique, little sister. Don't forget to breathe."

Katara, though, looked like she was about ready to lose her temper. "I'm just sick and tired of you telling me what to do all day. You're like a chattering hog-monkey!"

Sokka's face twitched. "JUST BEND THE SLURRY, WOMAN!" he shouted. She scowled, and without looking, cast up one hand. A burst of slurry jumped up and splatted into his face. He let out a disgusted sound, trying to wipe it off of him. As he cleared his eyes, he beheld a small, dark-haired figure approaching rapidly on a wave of earth.

"You guys need a bit of help?" She asked, hopping off her stone ride and covering her clothing in spattered mud. She looked damned near post-coital, she glowed so much.

Sokka looked at Toph. "You got your rematch, didn't you?"

"I kicked her ass," Toph confirmed.

"Would you let me down now, please?" Ty Lee asked. Toph cast a finger back at her.

"Oh, no. I've had just about enough of your flip-flopping, Sugarqueen. You decide now. Who's side are you on? Ours, or Azula's?" she demanded. Ty Lee looked stricken.

"I... I don't know."

"Wrong answer!" Toph said, bending the rock in the slurry back up. Where Katara alone could hold the plug, Toph began to force it back. Ty Lee was dragged back into the machine. Katara turned to Toph.

"I thought _I_ was Sugarqueen."

"You've been usurped," Toph said simply, pressing back the slurry.

* * *

_The shell was strong, but with its internal structure weakened in a key spot, it was vulnerable. If they crushed the drill, it could keep boring, but if they distended the surface of the machine even half a bu behind that drill, it would cripple it forever. It was all about causing a crack, that fateful crack. Precision, accuracy, timing, and overwhelming force. No wonder Sokka had been so enthusiastic about his plan._

Aang slammed down the second boulder atop the first one. This one only needed a bit of trimming; it needed to pass through the bore hole, but only just. Now, it would just take pressure to get the plan to work. Momo stuck his head out of Aang's shirt. He was often nervous when Azula showed herself. Fitting, because she was somebody it bore being nervous around. "You can get out of there, little buddy," Aang said, patting its head. It crawled out and flapped over to the nail Aang had prepared.

"Now, if I were a firebending princess," Aang said quietly, "how would I get back onto the Drill?"

He turned as he heard a roar from below. Rising up from flames that exploded out of her hands and feet, Azula soared over and landed on the top of the Drill. Her hair was coming undone, and she was covered in dust and grime. Her expressionless mask had been replaced by an angry snarl. "Did you think it would really be so easy to defeat the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation?" she asked, her tones tightly constrained.

"No, but I could hope," Aang said brightly. She snapped forward, firing bolts of fire, driving him back. He didn't have very far back he could go. The wall was very close. He deflected and avoided, but she moved closer, and dropped into a lower stance than usual, blasting him with a wave of concussion, smashing Aang into the wall. His head bounced, and stars flitted across his vision.

"Hope is for the powerless and the foolish," Azula said, her voice no longer in any way childish. Now, it sounded bitter. Old. She leapt at him, kicking two great blasts of fire. He dodged aside from one, which burned into the stone so hot that the stone began to melt. He pulled out a fist of stone from the wall and hurled it at her. She kicked it out of the air.

"You don't know anything about hope, then," Aang said. He cut at her with a dozen small blasts of air. Nothing damaging, but highly distracting. Every time she tried to levy an attack against him, the blasts blew it just a bit wide. He began to force her back. Just a bit further. Just past the nail. The rocks began to rain down again, but this time, she was ready for them. Anytime one came near her, she just blasted it out of the sky with a wave of concussive force.

But it gave Aang ammunition. He grasped one of the large rocks and swung it toward her, leaping over and using his momentum to hurl it. She tried to blast it as she had the others, but those only had gravity to power them. This was going much faster. It knocked her well back. He moved closer, bending the rocks which bounced off the shell toward her, keeping her on the defensive for once. Then, finally, with a great groan of machinery, the nail finally vanished under the lip of the hole dug into the wall. Aang turned, and gathered all of his breath. With a shout which could probably be heard leagues away, he declared.

"_**NOW!**_"

With a shudder the like of which Aang had never heard in his life, an entire section of wall of Ba Sing Se began to move in one piece. Every earthbender holding the wall against its desire to slide along the divides Toph had made released their energies, and gravity took its course. The entire wall slid downward more than the height of a man, focused first on that fateful nail. The nail dug in, and dragged the metal downward. The wall pressed down on this weakened spot, and began to flatten the Drill's shell, driving the innards down into more delicate structures.

The dropping of the wall pinned the Drill in place, but wasn't what killed it. Aang knew that the others had done what Sokka had asked, because a great rumbling came from the machine. Azula's eyes went wide, and Aang smiled. "So much for this drill," he said. The slurry lines, as Sokka predicted, weren't designed to hold massive pressures. Between the shell collapsing and the pressure Katara was putting onto the system, the entire line burst. Grey slurry began to fly out of every crevasse and crack in the machine, exploding up out of the fateful crack and bull rushing both Aang and Azula to the deck of the drill, then sending both sliding along it down opposite sides.

But that wasn't quite nearly so bad as what happened within the machine. Slurry would flood every engine, every furnace, every sensitive instrument inside the Drill. Fouling them. Rendering them inoperable. Even as Aang slid off the drill, barely stopping himself with a cushion of air, he could see the steam blast out of the pistons, the entire machine dying slowly as it bled internally. The slurry kept pumping out for a few more seconds, then, a quiet came over the entire battlefield. The Drill was dead.

Aang wiped some of the copious amounts of mud off of his face, a smile growing on it. Momo landed on his shoulder and began to pick through it. "I think we did alright," he said to the lemur. Momo just chirped happily, picking at mud.

* * *

You are doomed to failure.

Azula walked the length of the drill, feeling that voice talking in her head again. Who's voice was it, she often pondered? Was it Mother, trying to poison her even from wherever it was she'd taken to hiding? She couldn't say. But it was coming more and more frequently. She walked, and dark thoughts walked with her.

She finally reached the end of the drill, looking down at what was supposed to be just a lake of mud. A pillar stood there, probably crafted by that blind earthbending girl. Azula would have her vengeance for that humiliation in time. Ty Lee leaned against it, rubbing her ankles. "That was really uncomfortable," she said sadly. She was easily twice as filthy as Azula herself. And for once, she wasn't enthusiastic. Azula heard a hatch open above her, and she looked up.

Mai stared down at her, her bright grey eyes, impassive. She, of course, was spotless. "We lost," Mai said neutrally. Azula felt that fire burning in her, calling her to violence. To rampage. But she had to control it. She needed to. She _would not_ let her mother be right. No matter what the cost.

"Come on, ladies," Azula said, casting one last angry glance to the Drill. "There will be another way into Ba Sing Se. It's up to us to find it."

* * *

Piandao smiled, as he looked out the helm's large windows. He turned to Qin, who was quite pale and shocked. "Gauche," Piandao said, "and inelegant."

Qin probably knew the ramifications of this failure. It was a massive amount of funds and expertise and resources, all proved not just fruitless, but wasted utterly. Given to their enemies to do with as they willed. Qin looked at Piandao as he walked past. At the door, which was open and dangled a rope ladder, he stopped, and turned to the politician.

"Don't contact me again," Piandao said, "unless you have something worthy of my attention."

* * *

"Jasmine, please," Mushi said from a seat in the ingress chambers. Jet rolled the sprig of wheat between his teeth. It reminded him of home. The tea vendor poured the old man some tea as Jet approached Lee. He draped an arm over Lee's shoulders.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. Lee sighed, glancing away. "You know, I think we could do a lot better in the city if we stuck together. Come on, think about it. If you joined the Freedom Fighters, just imagine how much good you could do for the refugees."

Behind them, Mushi made a face. "Gah! More like 'coldest tea in Ba Sing Se'," he muttered. Lee looked at the arm over his shoulder, and stepped away from Jet.

"I don't want to join your little game," Lee said.

"This isn't a game," Jet said.

"Could have fooled me," Lee answered. Lee turned to Mushi. A small flame danced in Mushi's palm, under the cup. Jet's eyes went wide. Firebending? But how? Lee glanced back, and Jet quickly composed himself, turning away and walking to Smellerbee and Longshot.

"So, is he going to join?" Smellerbee asked.

"No," he said quietly, caustically. "The tea was _cold_."

"What?" she asked. Smellerbee glanced back and then back to him, confusion on her androgynous features. "So the old man's got a hot cup of tea. What's so strange about that?"

"He heated it himself." Jet said.

"That doesn't make sense," Smellerbee continued. "Lee didn't get those scars fighting a waterbender. Jet, please, don't go down this path. You promised we were going straight, now."

"And we will," Jet said. "As soon as I have the evidence, I'll turn them in to the army."

Longshot gave him a look. A raised brow under a battered hat. Jet knew what the look meant. It was asking 'are you really going to do that, or are you just saying that to make us stop questioning you?'. "Longshot's right," Smellerbee said.

Jet set his jaw, crunching through the stem of the wheat. It fell to the floor, and he crushed it under his heel. "We're still freedom fighters," Jet said. "And now, we're all that stands between Ba Sing Se, and these Fire Nation spies."

* * *

Everybody got onto the train, all made of stone with two bearers preparing to move it at the back. Everybody was bone tired. Some of them happier than others. Toph still had that grin on her face, even after all the time it took to get here. Sokka, who felt the most tired of all, despite having the least strenuous task, put a smile on. "I just want to say that we all did a good job out there today, Team Avatar."

"Stop calling us that," Katara said from her seat, where she was lying, an arm draped over her eyes. "No matter how many times you say it, it's not going to catch on."

"What about... the Boomerang Gang?" Sokka asked, pulling out his weapon. "...cause it's got an 'aang' in it?"

"Can I hit him?" Toph asked.

"The Aang Gang?" Sokka tried. "The Fearsome Foursome?"

"Sokka..." Katara muttered.

"What? We're fearsome," Sokka complained. Toph just shook her head.

"You're crazy," she said. Aang, though, was staying away from everybody else, staring down at the broad fields of Outer Ba Sing Se. He pulled out his bison whistle and gave it a blow.

"Don't worry, buddy," Aang said. "I'm coming for you."


	14. Welcome to Ba Sing Se

**Something creepy is afoot in the _MOST WONDERFUL CITY IN THE WORLD_. Also, look for somebody mentioned in passing here. You'll know her when you see her.**

**In other news, I recently read Ogro's Distorted Reality. In a number of ways, there are startling parallels between his second season arc and mine. Had I known about them, I probably would have done something differently. Ah well. It's my story, and I'll tell it the way I want to. By all means, read that though. Maybe if enough people get together, he'll get off us butt and update the story once and a while.**

**This was a harder chapter to write, but not nearly as hard as the next one was. Still, I'm content with them. Especially the pseudo-filial relationship which emerged between Sokka and Toph.**

* * *

The tea was sharp and bitter, rough. A common blend, used by common people. It was far beneath someone of his station, but he drank it anyway. It was an acquired taste. It was familiar. And it was an object lesson. It reminded him where he came from, how much he'd had to sacrifice and strive to get where he was. From nobody, to anybody. A smile pulled at his lips.

"Grand Secretariat," a subordinate said, bowing low. He turned and faced his underling.

"Secretariat Han," he said. Long Feng set aside his tea and rising from his seat in front of the fire place. It glowed with flames as green as the robes of the Cultural Authority. He never asked how, never cared why. They simply had, for as long as he had been alive, and would long after. Han would have been nondescript, if it weren't for the gaping hole where his right eye used to be. Being nondescript was an important tool of the Cultural Authority. "Why have you come to me during my morning cup of tea?"

"We've just cloned a message from General Sung on the outer wall," the lower ring Secretariat said, still bowed low. "According to Sung, the Avatar has arrived in Ba Sing Se."

"The Avatar?" Long Feng asked, running his fingers down the trailing hair of his mustaches and beard. "And to what purpose did he come to Ba Sing Se?"

"That was not detailed, Grand Secretariat," Han said. Han Hua was a very capable officer in the Dai Li. If there were a reason to be found, he would find it. In a way, Han's lowly stature as Secretariat of only the lower ring was a vote of confidence; he alone Long Feng could trust to be away from his gaze. Long Feng nodded.

"And who has come with him?" he asked.

"Two Tribesmen, one a waterbender. Also, Tuofu Beifong, the daughter of Loa Beifong and Yingsu Gangtie."

"A daughter of Yingsu Gangtie?" Long Feng asked. That presented an interesting opportunity. "Keep an eye on them. And assign them a Joo Dee. I don't care which."

"As you wish, Grand Secretariat," Han said, raising out of his bow and walking away. "If I uncover anything about the Tribesmen, it will be sent to you."

Long Feng nodded, turning back to the fire and his tea. While usually, there was no luck but that which one made, every now and then, serendipity fell from on high. It would be criminal of him to neglect it.

* * *

Sokka thought he'd seen cities. He saw the Capitol of the North, all intricately carved stone and ice. He'd seen Shr-Wa, built right into the side of a cliff. He'd seen Burning Rock, built of every style and every culture. But compared to this, they were all as quaint and dinky as his village back home in the South Pole.

"Okay," he said, trying to hold in his amazement. "I guess you _could_ hide a ten tonne magical bison in this city."

Toph lounged, Momo resting on her chest, and bit her nails idly. "Yup. Ba Sing Se. The only city in the world with more than a million people in it. Sozin City's a distant second with barely half as many. A big, dumbass collection of walls, and rules, and people."

"How can you say that?" Katara asked. "This place is amazing!"

"Trust me. Once you've lived in a city like this one, it gets old. Reaaaally fast," Toph said, spitting nails.

Aang nodded from his seat next to Sokka's sister. "The monks always said that the people in this city lived lives so very different from that of the Air Nomads. It's why I never came here when I was younger."

The cart came to a stop, and everybody got out. Sokka kept his eye on the daft looking fellow who was sucking on an ear of corn. "Come on, cheer up! We've reached Ba Sing Se, we can find your bison, and we have information which could end the war with the Fire Nation! Things are finally starting to look up," he said. He didn't feel too up, but the gang depended on him for these sorts of things.

Toph shook her head as she stepped off of the tram. When she did, she got a concerned look on her face, and turned to the end of the platform. Sokka turned with her. There was a woman approaching. She had a very wide, fixed grin on her face. Her hair was a light brown, fairly short, and her eyes were like gold. Those eyes looked sort of like Princess Azula's, but this woman was too old to be her by a long shot. She came to a stop, staring at them with that grin.

"Hello, my name Joo Dee," she said merrily. Something about her voice, high and flighty and so-unbearably happy set Sokka's teeth to grind. Toph looked unsettled as well. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se. I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around this great city. Please, come with me," she said, walking down to a carriage hitched to a pair of ostrich horses. Aang followed without hestitation. Everybody else was on edge. Even Momo stared at the woman like she was actively trying to eat him.

"Does something about this seem weird to you?" Sokka asked his sister.

"Weird is waking up and not having to fight for my life, at this point," she said. They settled into the carriage, and it began to move through the streets. The area here was run-down, like the people here either couldn't afford to do better, or there wasn't better to be done. The people themselves looked tired, run down, dirty, desperate, or some combination of the above. And above all, they looked tense.

"This is the lower ring," Joo Dee said, her tone just as bright as it was before. "This is the place where all of our new arrivals live, as well as our tradesmen and artisans. The people who work with their hands.

"What's that wall for?" Katara asked, as they moved nearer to a structure which was puny compared to the Outer Walls, but still quite sizable.

"Oh, there are many walls in Ba Sing Se," Joo Dee said, her tone not dipping in the slightest. "There are the walls outside, protecting us, and the walls inside which provide order."

"Right, like a chunk of rock is going to provide order," Toph said. Took the words right out of Sokka's mouth. He looked out the window and saw a mercenary brandishing a heavy sword at somebody.

"You _do_ have to watch your step, though," Joo Dee said, just a hint of strain in her voice.

"Why do you keep them blocked off?" Katara asked.

"And when are you going to bring us to the Earth King, since we have information that he needs to win the war with the Fire Nation," Sokka pressed.

"When the tour is concluded, we can deal with other issues. Don't worry. We are safe in Ba Sing Se," Joo Dee said. Sokka's eye twitched. The carriage passed under an arch and portcullis, and into a section which was significantly better maintained and furnished than the one they had left. "We have entered the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. It is home to our financial district, our temples and shops, and our university."

"Oh, that's interesting," Sokka said. "Because we were just in a magical library in the heart of the Si Wong Desert when we discovered a piece of information which we _absolutely have to get to the Earth King_!"

Joo Dee didn't bat an eyelash at his outburst. "Isn't history fascinating?" she asked. She pointed at a building that they were approaching. "Over there is the oldest building in the middle ring. Town hall!"

She pulled up to the building and left the carriage. Sokka stared after her. "Did she only hear every other word I was saying?"

"It's called 'being handled'," Toph said. "Get used to it."

"I don't know. There was something extremely creepy about her. Didn't you feel it, Aang?"

"What?" Aang asked, staring at the streets. "I wasn't paying attention, sorry."

Sokka watched as Joo Dee walked toward the building, oblivious that nobody was following her. Something about this seriously set off Sokka's danger alarm. And she was at the center of it all, he just knew it.

* * *

Lee walked along the streets of the city, trying to stay out of the mud. He scratched at his beard, probably thinking that it needed a trimming. Mushi moved up behind him, carrying a potted plant, colorful pansies and lotuses. "Why did you get that, Uncle?" Lee asked. "And where did you get the money for it?"

"I just wanted our new place to look nice, in case you decided you wanted to invite over a lady-friend," Mushi said, nudging Lee. Lee just shook his head.

"This city is like a prison," he said lightly, uncertainly. "I don't know if I want to make a life, here."

"Life happens wherever you are, my nephew," Mushi said. Jet stepped out of the shadows, behind them, and his gang moved with him. He stared at them as they walked away. Traitors, the lot of them. They betrayed more than the Earth Kingdom. They betrayed Jet. And Jet didn't suffer traitors well. Smellerbee walked up to him.

"Jet, you saw a man with a hot cup of tea. That doesn't prove he's a firebender. And even if he was, you said that we were coming here for a fresh start, for a new beginning."

Jet scowled. "I saw the fire," He said. Longshot grabbed his arm and gave him a look. The look said 'Are you really going to do something this idiotic'? He pulled his arm away, and faced the firebenders that walked away. "Don't worry. When I have the evidence I need, I'll turn them over, an the guards can deal with him."

"Why don't I believe that, Jet?" Smellerbee asked quietly. Jet ignored her and walked away, leaving them to their own devices. They would probably hammer out all the little details. Finding a place to sleep. Some food to eat. Right now, Jet had a mission of his own. Find the proof. He followed the spies to their home, a tiny spot in the back end of nowhere.

"Isn't it lovely? It brightens up the whole room," Mushi said. Come to think of it, Mushi probably wasn't even his name. Lee rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Uncle," he said. "How did you afford this place, anyway?"

"I promised the owner we'd pay them at the end of the week," he said. "I have a very trustworthy face."

Yes, Jet thought. That's how you managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se so easily. "And how are we going to pay at the end of the month," Lee asked. "It's not like we have jobs."

"Actually," Mushi said, raising a finger. "I may have found one already. I stopped in to have a cup of tea at a shop nearby..."

"And how did you pay for _that_?"

"And the owner was looking for workers. Now, the tea was disgusting, barely more than hot leaf juice..."

"But that's what all tea is," Lee said. Mushi stopped, getting a thoroughly annoyed look on his face.

"I cannot believe that a member of my own family would say something so terrible," he said. "Come. We start working this afternoon."

Lee just stared at the door after his 'uncle'. Jet watched him through the window. "How the Hell did you pull all of that off in two hours?" Lee asked.

* * *

The carriage continued to roll, this time past a massive edifice which dominated the city. "What's inside that wall?" Katara asked.

"And who are those mean guys with the green robes?" Sokka asked.

Joo Dee just kept smiling. "Inside is the Royal Palace, and those men are agents of the Cultural Authority, the guardians of the history and traditions of Ba Sing Se."

Aang brightened for a moment. "Then we _could_ see the Earth King!"

"Oh, no," Joo Dee said, her smile not altering even as she became quite patronizing. "One does not just _pop in_ on the Earth King." Aang hung his head. Katara didn't like seeing him like that. After a while of Joo Dee's pointless droning, the carriage came to a stop again, this time at a house. Joo Dee motioned. "And here we are. This is your new home."

The group got out of the carriage and looked at the house. It was quite nice, Katara thought, but she would hardly call it 'a home'. To her, home would always be wherever her family was. And right now, these people were her family. Even Toph, strangely enough. As they walked toward the door, a messenger came running to the carriage, and handed Joo Dee a scroll. She read it, and looked back up, that frozen smile still on her face. "Good news, everyone!" she said. "Your request for an audience with the Earth King has been noted, and will be processed faster than usual, due to your advanced status. It should be possible to meet him in about a month."

"A month?" Sokka asked.

"Six to eight weeks, actually," she said, grinning. She ushered them inside. The place was fairly nice. Stone floors with a wooden second floor. She guessed that was where the bedrooms were. "You are going to so enjoy living here."

"We'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying so long," Katara pointed out. "Is there any way to see him sooner?"

"I'm afraid not. The Earth King is too busy managing the affairs of the _greatest city in the world,_ but he will see you when time permits," Joo Dee said. Katara's brow drew down as she stood there, staring at them with those dead, golden eyes. She recognized them just as much as her brother did. Those were Fire Nation eyes. But what where they doing here? And there was that shift in tone as she talked about Ba Sing Se. Something wasn't right. Sokka knew it too. Only Aang seemed too distracted.

Joo Dee stepped forward, to the door. "I would be happy to guide you anywhere you need to go," she said.

"Beat it, lady," Toph said, her jaw tight. "We don't need a damned babysitter."

Joo Dee's expression became, if anything, tighter. "I won't get in the way. And besides, to let you wander about when you could become lost would make me a bad host. Where shall we start?"

"We need to talk to somebody who knows about animals," Aang said. "Somebody who buys and sells them. If we're going to be here for two months, we should spend them looking for Appa."

"I know of many such people in the lower rings," Joo Dee said.

"Big animals. Exotic animals," Sokka explained.

"Dealers in foreign animals need special permits, and are restricted to working in the lower ring, to prevent any accidental damage," Joo Dee said smoothly. Aang seemed to jump on that, though, and looked at the others.

"Come on, guys. We're going to find Appa," he said.

"No thanks, Twinkletoes," Toph said. "I've still got wall slurry in my toes. And my hair. And a lot of other places I'm sure you're not comfortable hearing about."

Aang turned to her, and bowed. "I never even expected you to come this far. Thank you, sifu-Toph."

"Don't talk like that," Toph said, giving Aang a shove. "I'm just taking a bath, you baby. Go find the big fuzzball. I think you can do this without my help."

Katara was surprised. Toph was something of a mercenary. Why she'd stick around, Katara couldn't fathom. Katara joined Aang and her brother as they went in search of somebody who might know of Appa's whereabouts. Katara sat close to Aang, almost willing her strength to him. He looked like he needed it.

* * *

Sokka was exhausted. They'd spent the entire day running around, trying to find Appa. But nobody was willing to talk to them. More often than not, they seemed on the verge of saying something, anything, but then, they glanced to Joo Dee and suddenly, their mouths were sealed. What was that woman, anyway? She wasn't just a tour guide, Sokka was certain of that. He slid open the door and wandered inside.

Toph was lying on the raised, wooden floor at the back of the house. She had a towel over her, but was otherwise naked. When Aang saw that, he averted his eyes immediately. Sokka was confused as to what she was doing. He walked over. "You're clean," he said.

"Yup," She answered, slowly fanning her hands along the wood.

"I thought you hated being clean," Sokka said.

"I prefer to keep a nice healthy coating of earth at all times," Toph nodded, "but there are times where there's nothing better than a long bath. Like when you've just poked a hostile country in the eye with a sharp stick."

Sokka laughed at that. She was good at getting a laugh out of him. "So what're you doing?" Sokka asked.

"Experimenting," she said. Sokka's interest was raised. It called to mind the mad projects he'd explored and played with in the Northern Air Temple, at the Mechanist's side. "The same way that Sweetness and Twinkletoes can muck with plants when they're all alive and gushy, I find that if I concentrate, I can feel the earth inside dry wood."

"That's interesting," Sokka said. She sat up.

"Interesting?" she asked. "This changes everything! I can see in a wooden room! I can't bend it, but I can see it!"

"That's great. I'm going to bed," Sokka said. Toph scowled, and grabbed his hand. "What?"

"Not yet," she said quietly. She got up, pulling the towel around herself and walking to her bag of things. At least, for Aang's sake, she changed into her dress elsewhere. Sokka couldn't figure out why the monk was so buggy about people being naked around him. Katara couldn't, either. The dress Toph came out with was green and white, much like the dresses that were common in the city.

"Where are you going?" Katara asked.

"Seeing the sights," Toph said flatly, with a smirk. Katara threw up her hands and walked away. Toph grabbed Sokka and dragged him out the door. "I'm taking Loverboy with me, so people don't get suspicious."

As Sokka got dragged out the door, he couldn't help but mutter to himself. "Yeah. Nothing suspicious at all about a hulking seventeen year old Tribesman running around with a little blind girl."

"Can it, Loverboy," she said. She let go of his hand, and took a moment to get a jewel out of her pocket, arranging it through her hair so it rested on her brow. She turned to him, and nodded. "Come on."

"Why am I here again?" Sokka asked.

"What? You don't want to take a trip on the town, just us guys?" Toph said, clapping him on the back so hard that Sokka almost pitched forward. Toph was a _lot_ stronger than she looked. She smirked. "You've got information, I've got an idea. You said you need to find out when a solar eclipse is going to happen?"

"Yeah, so that we can invade the Fire Nation," Sokka said.

"Where, do you think, such information would be kept?" Toph asked.

"A fortuneteller's house," Sokka said dourly. He remembered the difficulties he had last time he had to argue rationality against blind mysticism. Toph just stared at him like he'd just grabbed ahold of an idiot ball. "What?"

"Some soothsayer _might_ get the month right," Toph said. "But you talk to astronomers, and they'll give you a date and an hour."

"Ba Sing Se University," Sokka said. He rummaged through his bag, that green and gold bit of kit that he'd accidentally stolen from Burning Rock. He located the scroll from Wan Shi Tong's library. He had a promise to fulfill. The two made their way to the middle ring, and finally, to the University proper. It was late in the evening, but students still filled the hallways, reading by lamplight. As Toph tried to find somebody who could lead them to the astronomical faculty, Sokka found himself moving toward a sweet looking girl sitting in a corner, reading scrolls.

"Hey, there lovely," he said.

"Go away," came a somewhat familiar voice. Sokka was stung.

"Oh, don't be like that," Sokka said. "I'm new in town. Looking for some help with a few things."

The girl turned to him, looking at him with dark brown eyes behind spectacles. He could have sworn he'd seen this girl before. She scowled at him. "How long will this take? I'm extremely busy."

That voice was so familiar... Sokka put on a smile. "I'm wondering, do you know anything about sandbenders, maybe you've heard of some traders out of Si Wong in the city?"

The girl shook her head. "If you want to learn about desert cultures, you'd be better off talking to Professor Zei."

Sokka's smile dropped. He was getting no traction. "What about if I wanted to ask who knew about the war with the Fire Nation?" he asked. She scowled, then looked past him. Sokka turned, and a man in green robes was walking away.

"I'm not a political sciences major," she said dismissively. She glanced left and right, then put on a sweet smile. Recognition was so desperately close. It was like he just couldn't get it. "Come here for a second," she said, her voice suddenly like honey. Sokka smirked and leaned in. When he did, she grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him close. She whispered into his ear. "Don't talk about the Weary War in Ba Sing Se, and don't go anywhere near the Dai Li. Bad things will happen to you if you do."

She separated, gave him a pointed glance, and then went back to her scroll, ignoring him completely. Sokka stood, and turned. _Two_ men with green robes were walking away. He frowned, and walked back into the atrium. Who was that girl? Why did he find her so familiar? He found Toph trying to talk to a man who was ignoring her as thoroughly as that girl was now ignoring Sokka. Sokka grabbed Toph's arm, and began to pull her out.

"What are you doing," Toph asked, clearly annoyed.

"We should leave," Sokka said. Toph complained, but Sokka didn't stop. "Toph, this place is creeping me out and we can try this again later when we aren't under the risk of vanishing into the night and never reappearing."

"Gods, if you're really this spooked, then come on. But keep this up, and I'll be forced to rename you Girlyman," she said. She pulled free for a moment, and turned back, toward that side passage Sokka had been in. If all the walls and pillars weren't in the way, she would have been looking right at where that girl had been reading. She had a tense expression.

"What is it?" he asked. She scowled.

"Forget Girlyman. This place is officially spooky."

* * *

Katara chewed on the last of her yak jerky as Aang paced on the floor. He was in that sort of state a lot, since he felt he was so close to getting Appa back. Part of her wanted to comfort him. To tell him everything would be alright. The rest of her pushed that mothering instinct back. How long had she had to be the mother? Too long.

Unable to keep watching him, she got up and started to idly read through the leaves of paper with the day's events on them. This news paper was fascinating reading; she didn't know why more places didn't have them. The door slammed open; Toph and Sokka walked in. She turned to them. "Where have you two been?"

Toph grinned, and swatted Sokka's rump. "I've made your brother a man," she said. She paused. "Well, as much of a man as he'll ever be."

"Stop doing that!" Sokka shouted. Toph just laughed and moved into the room. "I was trying to honor my promise to Professor Zei, but that university is creepy. It was like I was being watched the whole time."

"Yeah, and we're a bust on finding anything to do with that Eclipse, too," Toph said. "Nobody wants to tell me about the astronomer, either."

"So we've got no leads on Appa," Aang said. "We can't talk to anybody without a chaperon, and we have no way of talking to the Earth King."

"That might not be true," Katara said, letting most of the paper fall, and holding onto one sheet. "It says here that tomorrow, the Earth King will be holding a birthday party for his royal bear. He's sure to be there!"

Everybody looked at her. "You mean platypus bear?" Aang asked.

"No... just bear," she said.

"Armadillo bear?" Toph asked.

"No."

"Skunk bear?" Sokka guessed.

"Tiger bear?" Aang pressed

"No," Katara said. She looked at the page again. "It just says... _bear_."

There was a long moment of silence. "This place is weird," Toph said. Nobody felt like disagreeing with her.

"People will be everywhere, and we can be just three more in the crowd," Katara said, gathering the paper back up.

"Three? What am I going to be doing?" Sokka asked.

"Fine, three plus Sokka," Toph corrected, knuckle deep in her nose. "And besides, that's not going to work. This is Earth Kingdom high society, and they'll pick you out in a heartbeat. You've got no manners."

"Says the woman spelunking in her own head," Katara said. "I _have_ manners."

Toph flicked away whatever it was she was digging for. "Sweetness, I was raised with the rules of high society branded into my very bones. I just choose to ignore them, because that's more fun. You never learned it to begin with, and I don't think anybody's really got it in 'im to learn that much in a day."

"That doesn't mean you couldn't try," Katara said. Aang perked up a bit.

"Hey, I'm already mastering every element. There's no reason I can't master etiquette as well."

Sokka pulled down a drape, and swirled it around himself. "I'll see your element of manners and raise you the ELEMENT OF SURPRISE!" he shouted. Aang laughed, and pulled down his own drape.

"Good evening, Sokka of the South Water Tribe, Master Katara, Lord Momo of the Momo dynasty. Your Momoness?" Aang said with overdone tact.

Momo, huddled under a blanket, seemed to nod at the comment. Katara rolled her eyes. Sokka gesticulated madly. "Oh, Avatar Aang, how you do go on," he said, as exaggerated as person could possibly be. He bowed. Aang bowed deeper. The two got into an all-out bow off, which only ended when both dipped at once and smashed foreheads, falling back, and laughing uproariously. Toph shook her head.

"Sweetness here might, _might_ be able to pull it off," she said. "But you to idiots would be lucky to get in as busboys."

"Aww," Sokka whined. "And I feel so fancy."

* * *

Aang stared at his opponent. He knew the risks involved. He knew the price he would have to pay for failure. It was a task he'd done many times before, but seldom had the stakes been so high. Pain and humiliation. Cast down forever, never to rise from his shame. His opponent smirked, and they both lashed out as one.

"Earth!"

"Fire!"

Aang grinned, then reached out and flicked Sokka's ear. "That's seven in a row. Willing to give up, yet?"

"There's no way you can get eight," Sokka said, readying himself. He was getting ready to throw another element, but the doors slid open. It certainly took long enough. The two of them had been gone all day, apparently to some spa or another. They called it a 'ladies' day out', but as Sokka could attest, only one of them was a lady. Aang turned.

He was mistaken. There were two ladies. One of them was short, her hair black and collected into a complex bun. Her skin was pristine and smooth. Only her milky eyes and signature jewel revealed her identity as Toph. And the other? A vision of otherworldly beauty. Looking at Katara right then brought a warmth through Aang that he couldn't really account for. Well, he could, but he didn't like to talk about it. Needless to say, he was very glad that the Air Nomads had no celibacy vows. "Wow," Aang said, blushing. "You're really beautiful."

Sokka scowled, then reached over and flicked Aang's ear. "Stop looking at my little sister like that."

Katara looked like she was going to say something, but Toph snapped her fan open and blocked Katara's mouth. "No talking to the commoners, Katara. First rule of society."

She smiled patronizingly at Toph, then moved the fan away. "We'll find a way to sneak into the party, then let you in the side door."

Aang couldn't stop watching Katara as she walked away. Had she always been that attractive? If so, how had he missed it? Sokka just scowled. Aang reached over and nudged Sokka. "Check out Toph. I didn't know she had that in her."

"Eh. Not my cup of tea," he said. Aang frowned. Weren't those to involved in something?

"What, you prefer her covered in dirt?" Aang asked. Sokka stared at the Avatar.

"Nothing. Happened," Sokka said, his face contorted in stress. It didn't stop Aang from laughing at him, before following the ladies to the palace. Aang watched as they advanced slowly in the line, then turned to his friend.

"I've been working on a new trick. Watch this," Aang thrust out a hand, and the sounds coming from the far end of the line sounded like they were coming from right in front of Aang.

"Acoustic control?" Sokka asked. He shook his head. "How...?"

"I'm just making the sounds travel easier through the air to us than somewhere else," he said. "I thought of this remembering music night, back in the Southern Air Temple."

The sounds from the line reached back to Aang. "Invitation please," the guard at the far end said. Toph pulled something out of her sleeve and brandished it.

"I'm sure this will suffice," she said. The guard scrutinized it, then stood back.

"No entry without invitation. Step out of line, please."

"Look. The Pangs and the Yumsunhans are waiting for us inside. I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let us in," Toph warned. The guard didn't look impressed.

"Step out of line, please."

Toph muttered something that a proper lady would never say, then the two of them moved aside. They walked a short while, but then Katara intercepted a middle aged fellow who was walking toward an entrance. "Excuse me, sir. My cousin lost our invitations," Katara leaned in, whispering. "She's blind," she leaned back out. "Our families are inside and I think they're starting to get worried.

The man looked at them, then smiled. "I would be honored. Please, come with me," he said. He walked past the guard, who didn't give the girls a second look. Which was just as well, because both of them made either a face or a rude gesture at his back as they passed. The two males waited outside. Time passed.

A lot of time.

"Ugh. When is Katara going to open the door?" Sokka complained. Aang rolled his eyes. Sokka stroked an invisible beard for a moment, then picked up Momo. "You know, I've got a plan. We dress up Momo like a ghost, and he goes flapping around the guards. Then, in the distraction, we blast a hole into the wall..."

"Or we could just go in as serving staff," Aang offered, pointing to a servant's entrance nearby. "Toph did say we might pass as busboys."

Sokka scowled, but then shrugged. "Fine. But remember the ghost plan. I think it's a winner."

* * *

The party was opulent, to use a word in its truest sense. The inside of the Royal Palace put everything Katara had ever seen in her life to shame. Even the North lacked such splendor. She walked amongst the people, Toph by her side. Katara still wasn't sure why Toph was still in the city. She'd expressed loud and repeated disinterest in staying in Ba Sing Se, and yet she remained. Katara wasn't complaining. It was because of Toph that they'd gotten this far.

"Come on, he's eating all of the good stuff!" one of the guests lamented.

"Shut _up_! You don't know what I had to do to get a seat this close to the bear," another replied. 'Bosco', the pet and symbol of the 52nd Earth King of Ba Sing Se, was an odd looking beast. Take all the platypus out of a platypus bear, all the tiger out of a tiger bear, all the armadillo out of an armadillo bear, then mash what was left into one creature, and it would probably look something like Bosco. Except Bosco was wearing a shirt and hat.

"It is glorious, isn't it?" the man from the door asked. Katara started. When had he gotten behind them? "Smooth and orderly, and unchanging. Perfection in its utmost form," he turned to bowed slightly to the two ladies. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Long Feng, a cultural minister for the King."

Katara bowed, deeper than Long Feng did, as Toph taught her. "I am Kwamei, and this is my cousin, Dung," Toph didn't look too happy with that little alteration. Long Feng just got a small smile on his face.

"Where did you say your family was? I would quite enjoy to meet them," he said. But his eyes flicked to Toph for just a moment. Katara didn't feel comfortable at the moment.

"I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them soon," Katara said, turning away from him. She leaned close to Toph. "Does he know you?" she asked.

"Why? Was he staring at me?" Toph asked.

"I'm sorry, young ladies, but I cannot simply allow you to wander off," Long Feng said, standing in front of them again somehow. He had a patronizing smile. "It would be dishonorable of me to _not_ aid you in finding your families. We should search together."

Katara now fully understood what Toph and Sokka were complaining about. This city was creepy. She cast glances back to Long Feng as they moved through the party. Trying to find some way to ditch their tail, actually, and let Aang and Sokka in. But Long Feng was dogged. And he was not easily fooled.

"_We should be keeping an eye out for the king,_" Sokka's voice came.

"_I don't even know what the King looks like,_" Aang's was right after it. Katara peered through the crowds, and saw her brother and the Avatar dressed as serving staff. She could even see Momo was tucked under Aang's hat.

"_Long flowing robes. Very regal. How could you miss it?_" Sokka said. Then there was a long pause, no doubt as he looked around the room and found no less than a hundred men who would match that description. "_Oh. Right_."

"One crab cake, please," Toph asked. Sokka started, but grinned as he saw the two ladies.

"You found us!" Aang said. Toph smirked.

"I'd know your footsteps anywhere, Twinkletoes," she answered.

"Why didn't you let us in, like you said you would?" Sokka asked, annoyed.

"We haven't had a chance. We've been followed by this creepy guy since we got in the door," Katara pointed out. Sokka glanced around.

"What creepy guy?" he asked. Katara turned. Long Feng was gone. But a woman with golden eyes was pushing her way through the crowd. It was Joo Dee, but she had a very different expression on her face today. It wasn't that frozen, unsettling smile. This was a portrait of worry.

"Please, you cannot be here," she said, her tones still happy, even if her face wasn't. "You must leave immediately, or we will all be in terrible trouble."

"Like I care about that," Sokka muttered, blocking her with his tray. "We're not leaving until we talk with the Earth King."

Her eyes turned downright desperate. "Please, you have to listen to me. You must go!"

She pushed against Sokka, and Sokka bumped into Aang. Aang lurched, and his pitcher of wine splashed over one of the guests. He smiled nervously, and waved his hands "I'm sorry, don't shout. I can clean you right up."

"Aang, don't..." Katara said, but he was already giving her a blast of airbending, which did dry her off, but also dragged her makeup and hair into a state which would not have looked out of place on a prostitute blasted on cactus juice. The woman stared, stunned. Behind them, Joo Dee's expression went from worry, to outright, pale, and twitching fear.

"Oh. The Avatar," she said, a little shaken. "I didn't know you would be here."

Sokka leaned close to Aang. "Distract them so we can find the King," he said. Aang nodded, then whipped off his hat and began to race around the room on an air scooter, conjuring up tricks and amusements with his bending. Sokka motioned toward one of the exits, and the three companions of the Avatar began their search.

A gong sounded at the far end of the room, and a grand palanquin, all golds and obsidian, was hefted into the room. A slender man was resting on thick cushions, obscured by a curtain. She began to move toward him, but she caught Sokka out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over, and he was moving toward the King, too. But he was halted, as though locked in place. He glanced around, but was suddenly and swiftly dragged out of sight. She turned, moving toward Sokka. She heard something crunching, and then there was a great pressure over her hands and mouth. She felt herself being dragged away. Toph turned to Katara, and a black streak surged from the crowd. Toph reached up and smashed it with one scarred fist, then dropped into an earthbending stance. That was the last thing she saw before a dark bag was pulled over her head.

* * *

Aang grinned, twirling his great sphere of wine and water above his head. It scintillated with many colors in the light. He heard the gong, and saw that palanquin enter, and snap froze the sphere, letting it fall onto the table behind him. He zipped forward along the table on his air-scooter, but as he approached, the palanquin just kept moving, past the table and out of the room. A line of men in green robes began to file into the chamber. One of them looked up at Aang as he came to a stop at the head of the table.

"Excuse me," Aang said, "but I have to speak to the Earth King about a matter of grave importance."

"You were not invited to this party, Avatar Aang," the man in green robes said. "You have violated our laws and customs. Please, come with me."

"You don't understand. I have to talk to the Earth King."

"One does not just pop in on the Earth King," the man said scathingly.

"I'm the Avatar. I need to..."

"We know who you are," the man said. "It does not matter. You will leave the premises immediately."

"Or what?" Aang asked, annoyed. The man pointed to the room. A circle had been cleared, and lined with men in green robes. At the heart of the ring was Toph, who was standing as though she were expecting to be attacked at any instant.

"I cannot guarantee her safety," He said. "Come with me, now. Your friends are waiting for you."

Aang hung his head, and set his feet on the ground. The man in the green robes directed Aang back through the crowd. Toph gave him a look, if she could be said to do such a thing, and then moved with him. Together, they left the party, which had become utterly silent except for the grunting and roaring of Bosco, who was merrily eating anything he could get his paws on. When the men escorted Aang and Toph through the back passageways, they opened up a hole in an outer wall, and had the two teenagers walk through it. Sokka and Katara were standing outside in a garden, rubbing their wrists. There were dozens of those green robed men and women standing around.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aang demanded.

"I am Ning, Secretariat of the upper ring of Ba Sing Se," Ning said. "Your actions have marked you as a disruptive influence on the order and structure of Ba Sing Se. You are hereby forbidden to enter the Royal Palace except under strictest supervision. You will be observed at all times and in all places by agents of the Cultural Authority. Any other attempts to disrupt the customs and laws of Ba Sing Se will result in harsh strictures. Any attempts of violence against the Dai Li will be viewed as an act of war against Ba Sing Se."

"What are you talking about? We have information that the Earth King needs to end the war with the Fire Nation."

"There is no war inside the walls of Ba Sing Se. Constant news of an escalating war would only serve to throw the people into a panic," Ning said. "And besides, the Earth King is a god to his people, and cannot be bogged down in the day-to-day minutia of a century-long war effort."

"But if you invade during the eclipse, the war will be over," Sokka said. Ning turned to Sokka.

"And when is this forthcoming eclipse? What month? What day? What year? Your plan is a non-plan," Ning shook his head. "It falls to the Cultural Authority to oversee the defense of this city, and your hog-monkey chase will only be to the detriment of Ba Sing Se. The people are told what they need to know. We maintain the economy, the culture, and the traditions of the city. In silencing talk of extraneous conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia. The last one on Earth."

"You can't hide the truth from these people," Katara said. "They deserve to know..."

"Whatever we tell them," Ning finished. "The people deserve better than the truth. And that is what we give them. If you continue to break our rules and regulations, we will be forced to evict you from our city. Permanently."

"I don't like being threatened," Toph said darkly.

"At least you didn't get captured, then threatened," Sokka muttered, just as darkly.

"This is not a threat," Ning said. "This is a guarantee. We will be watching you, Avatar. Every step you take, every move you make. Every meal you consume, and every time you go to the bathroom, we will know. Obey the laws, Avatar, or you will find Ba Sing Se barred to you forever."

Ning turned and walked away, the many men of the Dai Li following after him. He stopped, and turned. "Joo Dee will see you home," he said. A woman approached them, and Aang rolled his eyes, but Katara took his hand, clenching it very tight, as though from fear. When Joo Dee stepped into the light, Aang could see why.

It wasn't Joo Dee. This woman had long black hair that ran down her back, and she had dark brown eyes. She was also much taller and darker complected. But she had that exact same frozen smile. That same deadness in the eyes. "Hello," she said, her voice low but saccharinely sweet. "I am Joo Dee. Please come with me to your home."

"That's not Joo Dee," Sokka said. She just smiled at them.

"Of course I am," this woman said. "You must be playing a funny little game. Come with me, my honored guests. I will be your host as long as you are in this wonderful city."

All of Aang's companions looked at him. They'd seen this coming. And now, they were all paying the price for his tunnel-vision. Aang set his jaw, and followed this woman, this 'Joo Dee' back to their residence. He wasn't going to be put off that easily. He had a duty. He was Avatar. But he barely knew where to start. The monks were right. Ba Sing Se was Hell.

* * *

The girl with the spectacles looked up from her restraints as a man entered the room. He had the same green robes as all Dai Li, but there was a gaping hole where his right eye should have been. "You are miss Kwan Go?" he asked. She nodded, unable to speak for the bindings. He flexed a hand, and the stone crumbled away. He held out a scroll. She could see her picture on it. And her name. He real name.

"You know who I am," she said, flatly. The one-eyed Dai Li nodded

"The War has come to Ba Sing Se," he said simply. She stared at him, goggling. Dai Li would never say those words. He turned, and tossed the scroll into a brazier, where it caught and burned almost instantly. He gestured again, and all of her restraints crumbled away.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying to get her spectacles to sit properly again.

"We are not all blind," he said. "We know what comes," he turned, facing the fire, as though making sure not so much as an ash remained. "When you leave here, the Dai Li will forget utterly that you ever existed. Your arrest will be a bureaucratic anomaly. It will be as though you never came here."

"You didn't answer my question," she said.

He turned to her again, the shadows hiding his missing eye. "The path to the caves of Zhuqing are open and bereft of guards. Leave now. This is your only chance."

She edged around him. "Thank you," she said.

"Don't. Thank your mother," he said. So he knew. He knew everything. And yet he was still letting her go? She didn't feel like questioning kismet. She took off running down the halls and into the dark corridors, lit only with green flames. She needed to find somebody to help her. And luckily, she had a good idea where to look. Alone, in silence, she fled the city of horrors.


	15. In the City of Walls

**Let's face it, the only idea I had going into this chapter was 'Can I get Sokka and Zuko so drunk together that neither can remember the other?'. I feel that I've succeeded in that. FYI: The Chinese invented whiskey. Stephen Fry said so, so I have to believe it. Looking at Zuko again, at how he's not the same character he was in Canon. Anger feeds firebending, but what does melancholy do? I also loved looking inside Zuko as he made his dorky yet adorable gaffs in conversation. Finally, new character, if you didn't recognize her before, you'll be kicking yourself. Not a big role in this season, but she'll be back.**

**It was strange how one can compress most of the Tales of Ba Sing Se into a few throwaway lines. Except for Iroh's. I'm not touching that work of art. I couldn't do it justice.**

* * *

Jet watched from the shadows as Lee and Mushi went about their evening. He'd been following them all day, watching as they went about their 'business'. They were cunning ones. They had been keeping up the charade all week. Or was it two weeks? Jet wasn't sure, because he wasn't getting much sleep. Mushi wandered into the room which was effectively a kitchen.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Nephew?" Mushi asked.

"We've been preparing tea all day," Lee muttered, annoyed. "I'm sick of tea!"

"Sick of tea?" Mushi asked. "That's like being sick of breathing. Now, where are my spark rocks?"

Jet smirked, looking down at his hand. He had them. "Let's see some firebending, old man," he whispered. Mushi walked out of the room. Where was he going? Mushi returned, and moved to the stove, leaning down. He struck spark rocks together and quickly started a fire.

"Remember to give these back to our neighbors," Mushi said. "They're such nice people."

Jet scowled, hurling the spark rocks in his hand away. Mushi must have thought himself a clever one. But Jet was patient. He'd been fighting the Fire Nation since he was a child. He would fight them yet. He ducked back into the darkness, waiting for another opportunity.

* * *

Zuko walked through the fields of Outer Ba Sing Se. This late at night, there was nobody still working them. He had a destination in mind, a place which he had discovered in one of his wanders and made a note to return to time and time again. It was secluded, private. It laid at the edge of Lake Laogai. He moved through the darkness, trusting his night eyes to guide him, for he dared neither torch nor firebending to guide him. Especially not firebending. He moved out of the night and into the perpetual darkness of the cave. Deeper, moving by memory and touch alone, away from the surface, and all prying eyes. Into that chamber where the water trickled down and ran into caves yet deeper.

Zuko took a moment, breathing deeply. He moved slowly into a firebending form, punching out in front of him. Once, the blast would have been large enough to scorch the walls. For some reason, though, the flare that came out of his hands was so small and weak it was almost nothing. A candle would stand strong in comparison. He moved through his forms, all of the moves that he had learned from Uncle. From Azula. And every single one of them was weak and pathetic. It was like somebody had stolen all of his strength, leaving him as weak as he was when he was a young child.

"This doesn't make sense," he whispered into the darkness. He focused on making a fire, just a tiny one, to hold in his hand. It appeared readily enough, but no amount of effort could make it swell, make it grow. He took a calming breath, and threw it away. He called to mind Uncle's lessons on the Firestorm. Firebending, with the philosophy of airbending. Tiny flames, fast and accurate. He began to bend, and the fire came, fast, accurate, and small. This style wasn't vastly reduced, but it wasn't very useful, anyway. He stopped, sitting against a rock, a fire in his palm the only illumination. "What happened to me?" he asked.

It had been like this ever since he came to Ba Sing Se. Was it the city? That didn't make sense, either. No place in the world made it fundamentally easier or harder to firebend. He remembered what Uncle said about firebending. That it was fueled by anger and rage. He looked at the fire in his hand. So weak. Had he just given up? Was he out of rage? He pondered. It fit. He knew he couldn't find the Avatar. If he ever left Ba Sing Se, he'd probably be captured by Azula. Uncle was safe. He knew that there had to be a way to bring Mai here, too. _Had_ he run out of rage? Maybe he had. Zuko stood up, and began practicing other forms. The forms of an airbender he fought. The forms of a waterbender who almost defeated him at the North Pole. He practiced, because no matter what happened to him, Zuko remembered who he was. He was a warrior. He was a prince. He was son of Ursa and Ozai. And he would never be defenseless again. He would grow. He would adapt.

* * *

Toph looked up as Twinkletoes entered the room. "Get into any trouble?" Toph asked.

"Well, I did essentially steal somebody's land and build a wildlife refuge on it," Aang said. Toph couldn't help but smile.

"There you go. Breakin' rules and making a nuisance of yourself," Toph rose up, smacking some of the dust off her back. "I couldn't be more proud. My little Twinkletoes is growing up."

"Well, Katara's apologizing to a spa I almost destroyed," she said. She could tell Aang was raising an eyebrow at her. "I warned them not to mess with my feet," she said. He shrugged. It was good to be able to 'see' people. "Tell me, Aang. Katara says I'm pretty. Am I?"

"That's a baited question if ever I've heard one," Aang said. "Why don't you just ask Sokka."

"Oh, please. I'm just messing with him. It's fun to see him flustered," She reached over and threw a sheaf of paper at Aang. "And speaking of Loverboy wanted to help with your wanted posters, so he drew a few up. I told him they looked fine."

Aang picked up the papers, and she could practically see the suspicion on his face. "Well. I guess, I mean... They do look sort of like Appa. Maybe," he said. "Hmm."

"He's really bad at that, isn't he?" she asked. "And you didn't answer my question."

Aang put the papers away, scratching his head. "You look alright," he said idly. "Toph, why are you still here?" he asked. She scowled.

"Just alright, am I? That's all the praise you've got for me?."

"Toph..."

Toph got up walked over and gave him a hard poke in the chest. "Look. When I met you, I was comparatively blind. I couldn't do diddly-doo-dah against firebenders. I _thought _I was a lot better than I was. But now, I'm getting more badass by the day. I figure if I stick with you, I'll be tearing down the Royal Palace, knockin' the Dai Li's heads like pots, and bending _metal_ by the end of the year!"

"Well, I'm just glad you're still with us," he said. "I thought you'd be running off as soon as you'd gotten everything you wanted from us."

Toph sighed, sitting on the stairwell. "Aang, tell me something, and be completely honest with me," she said, feeling an odd knot in her stomach. "Do you believe in friendships that transcend lifetimes?"

Aang stared at her for a moment, then moved to sit beside her. "I do. I really do. Why?"

Toph pointed out a window. "I know that the sky is blue. And I know what blue _is_. I've been blind since the day I was born. But I _remember _seeing. I remember my friend in his red robes, chuckin' rocks at me for days on end. And I remember whuppin' him like a disobedient brat every time he went against my teaching. I remember... Roku," she said. "I remember it, and until I met you, I had no idea what that was, what it meant."

"I guess that's why I saw you in the swamp," Aang said quietly. "I really had lost you."

"So I can't leave," Toph said. "You guys are my brothers."

"And sisters," Aang prompted.

"Let's leave Sokka out of this," Toph said. And both began to laugh.

* * *

Iroh watched as Zuko glanced toward the door again. Recently, his nephew had become skittish, constantly looking over his shoulder. Iroh shook his head and poured a cup to the man sitting at the foremost table. He nodded up to him, smiling. It was an odd expression, considering his face was marred by a missing eye.

"I have to say, this is the finest tea in the city," he said evenly. "It's almost shameful that it could only be found in the lower ring."

"The secret ingredient is love," Iroh said reverently. Zuko rolled his eyes as he went past.

"You could do far better than here," mister Han said, drinking the tea slowly, a satisfied look crawling over his face. "Your talent could easily seat you in the upper ring."

"I am content to work wherever my abilities can place me," Iroh said. Han stared at Iroh, and Iroh stared back. Both knew the other wasn't what he said he was. But both had no intention of digging. Iroh was dragged away by Zuko, and brought to the front of the store. "What is it, Nephew?"

"_Don't look now, but I think somebody's onto us,_" Zuko said quietly. Iroh frowned. It was unlikely Zuko would be so perceptive as to spot that exchange of knowing glances he and mister Han had passed. He wasn't old enough, or experienced enough, to spot such things. Zuko continued. "_There's a girl sitting over there, and I think she suspects that we're Fire Nation,_" Iroh almost laughed aloud, and glanced past Zuko to a young, pretty girl sitting in the corner, placidly drinking Iroh's tea. "_I said don't look!_"

Iroh chuckled. "You're right, Nephew. I've seen that girl in here quite a lot," he said, tugging on his long, grey beard. "Seems to me that she's got a bit of a crush on you."

Zuko looked utterly poleaxed. The girl approached quickly and reached over, cupping her money into Zuko's hand. "Thank you for the tea," she said, an easy smile on her face. Zuko turned to her, his eyes wide with either alarm or surprise. "What's your name?"

"My... my name's Lee," Zuko stammered. "My uncle and I just moved here."

She kept smiling. "My name is Jin. You know, I was wondering if maybe you might like to go out with me sometime?"

Zuko waved his hands briefly, but Iroh ran right over any complaint his nephew was going to create. "He'd love to," Iroh said, elbowing Zuko lightly in the ribs. The easy smile turned into a grin.

"That's great! I'll be here for you when you're done work," she said, beaming as she walked away. Zuko turned to Iroh.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, a bit strangled of tone.

"I always said that you needed a woman in your life. Who knows, this might be the one," Iroh said. Zuko just groaned, and hung his head. Iroh found the whole thing wonderfully hilarious.

* * *

Sokka wandered through the streets stained red by early evening, casually throwing his boomerang to himself. Ever since he figured out what Toph's issue was – she was just having a joke at his expense – the two of them essentially became a couple of dudes having some fun times in the City. Aang, though, was still obsessed with finding Appa. It was his prerogative, Sokka guessed. The two of them _were_ close. Around that, Aang did all of his Avatar stuff, training with his sister and Toph, which left Sokka exactly nothing to do.

That was becoming a more and more frequent occurrence. He walked past a building, but heard women's voices from within. He paused, and peeked inside. He could see a woman standing on a dais, reading from a scroll. "Through all the long night, winter moon glows with bright love, sleet her silver tears."

Sokka smiled. He could think of no better way of describing Yue. "Poetry," he said lightly. Somebody walking behind him roughly shoved him, and he stumbled into the building, causing all of the ladies to face him. He blushed.

"I am so sorry," he said. "Something struck me in the rear, and I wound up... here."

The girls giggled. One, slightly older, didn't look so amused. "Five, seven, then five syllables marks a Haiku," she said. "Remarkable oaf."

Sokka grasped the concept, rubbing his back and smirking. "They call me Sokka, that is, in the Water Tribe," he counted off the last syllables on his fingers. "I am not an oaf."

The girls seemed quite amused by that. Which was good, because they were universally quite attractive. The mistress scowled. "Whole seasons are spent mastering the form, the style. None call it easy."

Sokka laughed. "I calls it easy," he countered. "Like I paddle my canoe, I'll paddle yours too."

The group gasped. The mistress looked about ready to snap. "There's nuts, and there's fruits. In fall, the clinging plum drops," she said, her eyes grim. "Always, to be squashed."

Sokka waved dismissively. "Squish squash, sling that slang," he said. "I'm always right back at ya', like my..." he pulled out his weapon, "boomerang!"

The girls were quite impressed, but the mistress just shook her head, turning away in defeat. Sokka grinned. "That's right, I'm Sokka. It's pronounced with an 'okka'," he said. "Ladies, I rock ya'."

"I have had enough," the mistress said. "Study the forms and rhythm, and return next week."

The ladies gathered around him, giggling and fawning over him. He shot a grin at the mistress, and made a victorious gesture. "Water Tribe!" he declared as he drifted out of the building, ladies on his arms.

* * *

The day was growing dark by the time their employer let Iroh and Zuko leave. Of course, it had taken another ten minutes before Iroh let him walk out the front door. His hair felt ridiculous, and he'd never had such a facial thrashing as when Iroh went to town on his beard with the scissors. Although, he had to admit, he looked a lot more presentable, now. He'd barely made it three steps when somebody grabbed his arm. He dropped into a fighting stance, ready for ambush, but found Jin staring back at him, looking a bit confused.

"What was that?" she asked, a touch annoyed.

"I'm sorry. Got to be careful down here," he said, unsteadily. Why did he always have to be such a moron around women? She brightened up, though, and ruffled his hair.

"Oh, you look so cute!" she said. Zuko frowned. Ten minutes on his hair, undone in seconds. At least it felt natural, again. She took him by the arm and practically dragged him to the restaurant she was interested in eating at. It was in the middle ring, well outside his usual wandering grounds. It was also fancy, which meant it was expensive. He wondered silently how he was going to be able to afford a meal here.

"Where did you come from?" Jin asked, as the waiter bustled out to serve them. Zuko cast around furiously in his mind. What would she believe?

"I'm from... ah... Omashu," he said. That was an Earth Kingdom city. Wasn't it?

"And was you Uncle from Omashu, too?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean... it makes sense, doesn't it?" Zuko said. "He is my uncle, after all."

"I just mean that I was born here, but I've got aunts and uncles from Ru Nan to Burning Rock."

"You've got family in Burning Rock?" He asked.

"All over the place. Is that mine?" she broke off, and began to eat her noodles at an astounding rate. "So. How do you like the city so far?"

"It's... okay, I guess," Zuko said, picking at his meal. Damn it, why did this have to be so frickin' difficult?

"What do you do for fun?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said quickly. Then he winced. That didn't sound suspicious at all, _did it?_ The waiter moved to Zuko's side.

"Would you like anything else for yourself or your girlfriend?" the waiter asked.

"She's not my girlfriend," Zuko snapped. Then, he _really_ winced, expecting, at the very least, something heavy to be thrown at his head. Instead, when he turned to Jin, she was still eating. She couldn't have _not_ heard his idiotic slip up. Ugh. For once, just once, he wished he had half the 'charm' of his uncle. Iroh would have a thousand smooth things to say to get out of this uncomfortable position. And half of them wouldn't be completely incomprehensible. He let out a nervous chuckle. "You've got quite the appetite, for a girl," he said. _Damn it!_

She smirked at him. "Um... thanks. I guess. Tell me, Lee, what did you and your uncle do before you came here?"

"We traveled a lot," Zuko said, grateful he didn't have to invent a lie again.

"Why were you traveling so much?" she asked. "Wait. Let me guess. You're part of a traveling circus."

Zuko just stared at her. "Yes," he said flatly. "A traveling circus."

She smiled, steepling her fingers. "I bet I know what you did. I bet you juggled."

"No. I swallowed fire," he said. Where the hell had that come from? She grinned brightly.

"Show me!" she said, holding the candle toward him. He looked at it, then shook his head. He pulled off one of the buttons from his shirt that he wasn't using, and wrapped it in cloth. He impaled the whole thing on a fork, held it over the fire until it caught. Then, he tipped it back toward his mouth. At the last instant before it went inside, he bent the fire as much as he could, snuffing it. He opened his mouth, and blew out just a thin wisp of fire before the whole thing gave out under his weakened firebending. She excitedly clapped her hands.

"That was so good. I bet you were really popular."

"You should have seen the knife thrower," Zuko said. Instantly, his mind went to Mai. Jin just grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the food. "Wait, don't we need to pay for..."

"Not tonight," she said, laughing as she took off at a run. Zuko's cheek twitched. Then, he realized that she'd just stolen food. That was why she was eating so fast. He took off after her. A few blocks later, he found her laughing uproariously in a short alley. He came to a stop, just staring at her.

"You do know that was a crime?" Zuko asked.

"They haven't caught me yet," she said, mischievously. She stopped laughing, and brought out that easy smile again. "Come on. I want to show you my favorite place in the city."

Once again, Zuko found himself being dragged along by the enthusiastic little woman. "It's a fountain," she explained. "When the light hits it from all the candles and lanterns around it it lights up in the most beautiful way."

Zuko rolled his eyes, but caught a glimpse of something fluttering down from the air. He stopped, pulling away from Jin. His eyes were wide as he stooped down and picked up the illustrated pamphlet. _Searching for a Sky Bison. Name: Appa. Weighs ten tonnes. If you have any information as to his whereabouts, contact Avatar Aang, 217__th__ house, 96__th__ district, upper ring_. He was here. The Avatar was in Ba Sing Se. Zuko stared at the pamphlet, which had gathered in a corner with others of its kind. He didn't know what to do. The Avatar was here. Zuko could... not do anything, he realized. He could barely firebend. He had nobody he could depend on. And all the Avatar, or _anybody_ nearby, would have to do is cry for help and Zuko would be a prisoner of the Earth Kingdom. Iroh too, probably. His heart sank as he crumpled up the paper.

"What is that, Lee?" Jin asked. Zuko looked up, unable to do anything about the shock in his eyes. He cast the note to the ground.

"Nothing," he said. "Nothing at all."

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she said, gently.

"I have," he said. He looked up at her. "So. This fountain?"

She instantly turned to smiles again. It was like being dragged around on a date with an ambitious Ty Lee. She expounded at length about the beauty of the fountain as she pulled him along, but when she finally got there, she suddenly fell silent. She looked crestfallen. "I can't believe it. It's not lit," she said sadly. Zuko looked at the candles and lanterns and lamps. He looked at his own hands. His firebending might be pathetically weak, but at least he could do this one thing. He turned her to face up the street.

"Close your eyes," he said. "And don't peek."

She obliged. He walked to the foot of the fountain. The tall walls around the region obstructed view from dangerous onlookers. He took a deep breath, feeling that low warmth in his pool of chi, even with his infirmity and the lack of Agni in the sky. Then, he began to bend, in full Firestorm style. Tiny flames, as large as he could make them but no larger than hamsters at the largest, flew out across the water and into the overhead lamps. A dozen precise, efficient flames. Two dozen. Four. Finally, he beheld the work he had done. His fire, helping somebody. It was a big change. "Alright. You can look now."

Jin turned, and her face brightened in awe. He didn't need to look at the fountain. He knew what it looked like. But this, what he saw before him? That was new. And it felt good. "Oh, Lee," she said. "How did you... I mean, they were all... How did they light? What did you–"

Zuko just smiled. He sat down on a bench overlooking the water. It was... well, he was about to think quaint, but it definitely had beauty to it. Jin sat down beside him. Very close, beside him. To his left, no less. She leaned over, as though for a kiss. Zuko's eyes went wide, and he panickedly dug through his coat. He held a card up for her. "My uncle," he stressed, the words coming out fast and high pitched. He cleared his throat and continued, "wanted you to have this. It's a free cup of tea."

She leaned back, still smiling in that easy way. "Lee, your uncle is quite sweet," she said.

Zuko stood, not really comfortable having her this close. Especially not on that side. Usually, when people saw his scar, it was followed by disgust and revulsion. So he turned away. "Don't thank me," Zuko said. "It was Uncle's idea. He says you're our most valuable customer."

She stood and moved to him again. On his left, again. He tried to turn again, but she caught his shoulders. "Your uncle is a wise man," she said. "Now, I have something for you. It's your turn to close your eyes."

Zuko stared at her for a moment. Why was he so jumpy? It's not like she was going to send a bolt of lightning through him or something. He nodded, and closed his eyes. After a moment, he felt lips pressing against his, a warm, caring caress. For a moment, he just felt that sensation, that warmth. That acceptance. Then, he remembered the last time he felt like this. That rainy morning under the rock. Mai. Zuko's eyes snapped open. Not that black hair. Not those silver eyes. He quickly pulled himself away.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Jin asked.

"I'm sorry. I can't..." he shook his head, looking at her sadly. "It's... complicated."

Cursing himself for an idiot and a coward, he moved away from the fountain, leaving her alone. He needed time to think. No. That wasn't what he needed. What he needed was to stop thinking, completely. And he knew of only one place where a person like him could stop thinking. He knew his uncle wouldn't approve, but at the moment, he didn't much care.

Zuko was going to go get hammered.

* * *

It was a long and thoroughly enjoyable night, Sokka considered. While it had stretched on long into the wee hours, and most of the party he had left the poetry house with had drifted off, he was still having the time of his life. It was probably due in no small part to the fact that he finally looked like a proper Tribesman, tall and wiry as he was, so people stopped assuming he was a child and ejecting him from the bars and taverns, often with great velocity.

Suffice to say, Sokka was more than a little drunk. Only one girl, Lilac by name, still clung to his arm. She was the daintiest of them all, and paradoxically, the best drinker of the lot of them. She had the most lovely green eyes. Or were they brown? Blue, maybe? It was hard to tell. He was a bit drunk. More than a bit. "Barkeep!" he shouted. "A round for everybody in the house, courtesy of the Beifongs!"

Toph had been adamant that they charge all overwhelmingly expensive purchases to her family. Sokka took full advantage of that. He staggered into the bar area, and found himself a table which was well maintained and kept. The bar was in the middle ring, a lesser standard for luxury than he'd grown used to, but possessing a much more interesting array of people. He turned to the man sitting next to him. "Are you going to raise a glass with me?" Sokka asked.

The man sitting next to him was shaggy-haired and bearded. He glanced, then shrugged. "What's the occasion?"

"My discovery," Sokka said. "Of a wonderful beverage called 'whiskey'."

"Good to have things to celebrate," the man said. "I've probably just sabotaged the best chance I had at a loving relationship that I'm ever gonna get again."

"You're not good at this bein' drunk thing, are you?" Sokka asked. Lilac laughed at his side. "What's the problem? Too shy? Too brash? Can't keep your foot out of your mouth?"

"Pick any two," the man said. Sokka laughed again.

"Talkin' to women is easy," he said. "All you have to do is say what's in your heart, and every now and then, they'll really respond to it," he turned to Lilac. "Isn't that right, my hard drinking, delicate little flower?"

"You are just incorrigible," Lilac laughed.

"You're lucky," the man said. "Every time I talk to women, I'm stumbling over myself every other word."

"Well, some people are just born charming," Sokka said.

"And poetic," she added.

"So what are you doing in the city?" the man asked.

"Helping my sister and a friend find his pet. Oh, maybe save the world while we're here," he said. The man nodded, his eyes a bit bleary.

"I'm only here because my only real family dragged me here. When I said I'd be safer serving tea, I wasn't being serious!"

"Well, we've all got our burdens to bear," Sokka raised his glass. "To all of our struggles."

"I'll drink to that," the man said. Sokka and the man with the beard spent the rest of the night drinking, shot for shot, until everybody was asleep, and the two men couldn't stop hugging each other.

* * *

Jet watched as the firebender stumbled out of the bar, followed shortly after by another man, who walked in the opposite direction. It was early in the morning. The sun hadn't even considered coming out yet. He stepped out, keeping to the shadows, and followed Lee as he moved back toward the lower ring. He felt hands close on his arm and pull him to the side. He almost grabbed his hook swords when he beheld his two freedom fighters were the ones holding him. "Longshot, Smellerbee, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Did you come to help?"

"Jet, we need to talk," Smellerbee said. He noticed that for the first time he could remember, she wasn't wearing her war paint. Longshot was also hatless. "Me and Longshot have been talking, and we think you've become obsessed with this. It's not healthy, Jet."

Both released him. He looked at them both. "Oh really? You both think this?" he asked. Longshot looked between them, then laid his hand on Smellerbee's shoulder.

"We came here for a fresh start," Smellerbee said. "But all you're doing is fighting the old battles. You won't let the past be the past. And it's starting to kill you, Jet. Please. Just let this go."

"Maybe if you'd helped me..." Jet began, but Smellerbee let out a shout of denial.

"No! Enough! Jet, I'm not going to let you destroy yourself," she said. She reached into her belt and pulled out her knives. Her eyes were sad, filled with regretful tears. "Please, don't make me have to do this. Don't make me take you down. I don't want to have to lose anybody else that I love."

Jet scowled, turning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sprig of wheat, rolling it between his teeth. "So you're just going to forget _why_ we need to start over, what the Fire Nation did to us? You're just going to let them win?" he asked. Smellerbee stared at him. Longshot just shook his head, giving a look that Jet wasn't up to decoding at the moment. He sighed. "Fine." He lashed out with two swift, powerful punches. One smashed across Smellerbee's jaw, the other pounded Longshot's head back into a wall. Both tumbled to the ground, unconscious. "If you won't help me, then I'll find the evidence on my own."

* * *

Zuko felt like hogtied hell. It had been a mistake to go drinking. He knew that now. It was a very, very big mistake. And now, he'd spend the rest of the day paying for it. His head pounded mercilessly, and he felt like he was half past dead. It had been a mistake to come home, too. Uncle had been merciless in his teasing, both because he returned alone, and he returned drunk. He didn't even remember who he'd gone drinking with. It all sort of blurred together.

Needless to say, Zuko wasn't at his best when he finally got scooped up out of bed and rolled to the tea shop. He worked listlessly, trying to keep from vomiting in the store and from just keeling over every time he stopped moving. It was a _long_ day. Late in the day, Zuko was beginning to recover, but still felt out of it. Mister Han showed up, just as he always did, and took his usual cup of ginseng tea. "I must say, Lee, that you would do well to enjoy some of this tea. It restores vigor and vitality. You look like you could use both," Han said, drinking Iroh's already renowned batch. Lee just shrugged, and moved toward the back of the store. Iroh was standing proudly next to the shop's owner.

"You know, I think you're due for a raise," the owner said to Iroh. Iroh beamed. Zuko just shook his head and set down his tray. Oh, would this day never end? Apparently the universe decided that Zuko hadn't suffered enough, because the door slammed open violently, and an extremely angry, haggard looking Jet stepped into the shop.

"I'm tired of waiting," he shouted.

"There are many available seats," Iroh offered. Jet's eye twitched, then he pulled the hook swords from his back.

"Those two men are Fire Nation Spies and firebenders!" he shouted. Everybody in the store looked around in confusion, unsure which two he could possibly mean. Iroh made a confused gesture. "I know they're firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!"

Han scowled, still holding his own cup. "He works in a tea shop," he said evenly.

"He's a firebender, I'm telling you!" Jet roared. Han stood, putting himself between Iroh and Jet. Zuko moved forward a bit.

"Drop your swords, boy. Nice and easy," Han said. He had a stance which was quite unlike his appearance. He wore sack cloth clothing and a floppy hat, but held himself like a warrior. Jet didn't look at Han, though. He stared at Zuko and Iroh.

"You'll have to defend yourselves," Jet said, clearly over the edge of dementia. "Then everybody will know. Go ahead. Show me what you can do."

Zuko had just about enough of this. "Fine. You want a show, I'll give you a show," he said, moving past Han and pulling the twin dao from a guard who was standing to one side. He brandished them, then spun and whirled to block the savage, undisciplined attacks by Jet. He could easily defend himself, unless Jet started getting clever. Which, as the universe would have it, he inevitably did.

Instead of just swinging the hook swords like clubs, he began to try sweeping them out, catching some part of Zuko and hauling him down. Han just quietly stood to one side as Zuko kicked a table at Jet. Jet vaulted over it, slashing at Zuko's legs. He hopped back onto a table himself. Jet cleaved the table in two, making Zuko balance on the unstable surface, waiting. Jet struck again, trying to upset Zuko, but Zuko just jumped off the table and swung low, trying to sweep Jet's legs out from under him. Jet backflipped away. When he landed, he smirked. "Come on. It would be so much easier if you just hurled a fireball at me. It's not like I could defend myself."

Zuko ran forward, bull rushing Jet. He tried to parry and deflect, but as much as Jet's swords were good for disarming, they didn't have the mass and the surface that Zuko's dao did. The two of them fell out the door, into the evening street. They rolled briefly, Zuko landing on top. He shook his head with a dark smirk. "You want to hear something ironic?" he asked, very quietly. "I couldn't firebend to save my life right now."

Jet let out a feral roar and pulled Zuko off with a nimble foot. Zuko started moving again. Once, he was a shadow in the darkness, but that wasn't enough. He had to do something new. When he fought the Avatar in Colony 31, the Avatar stayed to Zuko's back, no matter how hard he attacked or spun, the airbender was always out of his reach. Zuko was never one to not learn a tactic which had proven useful. Zuko pulled the hook swords out of position, then took Jet's back. Jet swung and twirled, trying to get Zuko in front of him, but he just moved with his opponent, parrying every stroke which came too close.

"Please, son, stop!" Iroh shouted from the door. "You're confused."

"I've never been more certain in my life," Jet said. He twirled faster than Zuko could match, and hooked one sword upon the other, making a very long, spinning blade. Zuko leapt back, stabbing downward into the ground with one of his dao, pinning one of Jet's hook swords in place. Zuko began to move in a dervish style, one that the waterbender had used to good effect against him at the North Pole. Jet was forced to fall back, unable to stop the twirling attacks even with his unusual sword. Finally, one slash came especially close, nicking through the sprig of wheat the man was always chewing on. He spun back and away. "You see that? The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! It'll never happen."

"You're out of your mind, Jet," Zuko said. Han calmly walked past Iroh, and into the street. Zuko was running out of moves. He didn't want to have to kill this man. Everything he'd done thus far was to buy time, to get the guards to come running. But none did. This was going to be Gow all over again. He took a calming breath, then waited for the blood to start flying.

Jet ran forward, a roar coming from his mouth, but something dark slammed into his hands, stripping the hook sword out of it. It clattered away. Han raised an eyebrow, then motioned again. The ground rose up to swallow Jet's feet, then dragged him against a wall. Han was still drinking his tea when he made a slapping movement, and the stone of the wall bent over his chest, pinning Jet's arms to his sides. Jet's eyes went wild.

"Who are you?"

"I am an officer of the Dai Li," Han said coolly.

"Then arrest those men! They're firebenders! Lee admitted it!" Jet shouted.

"The poor boy is confused. We're simple refugees," Iroh said, looking properly self effacing. The tea shop's owner came running out, and pointed at Jet.

"This young man trashed my shop and terrorized my customers," he said. Han rolled his remaining eye.

"I am well aware. I was here the whole time," he said, finishing his cup of tea. He handed the empty cup to the owner. "Did you really think it was wise to attack the finest tea maker in the city, young man?"

"Finest, well I wouldn't say..." Iroh said, blushing a bit. Jet lunged against his bindings, but he could gain no ground. Men in green robes began to appear out of almost nowhere.

"You don't understand!" Jet shouted, his voice breaking of madness. "These people are Fire Nation. You have to believe me!"

"You will accept your fate in silence," Han said, slapping again, and this time, a gag of stone covered Jet's mouth. He turned to Iroh and Zuko. "I apologize for not acting sooner. Such tea must be enjoyed in its fullest."

"That has always been my philosophy," Iroh said. Zuko groaned, letting his borrowed sword clatter to the ground. The men in green robes surrounded Jet, and they dragged him away. He screamed into his gag, flailed against their ministrations. But he was gone. Taken by madness first, and now, by violence. He turned away from the crowd which had gathered. Zuko shook his head. It was dangerous to believe something so strongly that it blinded you.

It didn't occur to Zuko that he had done the exact same thing, once.

* * *

Sokka felt like hogtied hell. The night had begun happily enough, making the poetry teacher seem like a fool and walking off with her entire class fawning over him. That was a happy memory. And he also had happy memories of telling them all bout his exploits. Guardian of the Avatar, and all that. And one by one, they all drifted away, too tired or too drunk to continue. He'd had a kiss and a cuddle with a few, but didn't take it any further. There was no real drive to. He still hurt inside.

He had no idea who it was that he'd spent a good part of the evening drinking with. The man was a sad drunk, quite maudlin, but seemed to get into good spirits when the two of them started drinking 'whiskey' and singing some of the more disgusting Fire Nation drinking songs that Toph had taught him. And when he got home, at least Katara was already asleep. He'd gotten an earful from her in the morning, but it was still worth it. He almost immediately went back to sleep, and let the worst of his hangover vanish with the morning.

When he finally felt like a human being again, he opened his eyes. Momo stared down at him. The lemur was reaching down and sticking its little hand into Sokka's open mouth. "Gah! Get out of there!" Sokka shouted. Momo screeched and scurried away. He shook his head. He didn't have a headache anymore, but he still didn't feel very much himself. He got up, and began to stagger down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. Katara was sitting on the floor, brushing her hair. She looked about as tired as he did, for some reason. Aang was just completely asleep on the floor next to her. He didn't ask, and he didn't want to know. There was a knock at the door. Sokka was the closest, and Katara didn't get up, so he shrugged and slid the door open.

The girl from the University was here. She stared up at him, brown eyes behind somewhat bent spectacles. "Oh, thank the gods," she said. "This was the eighth house I knocked at."

Katara perked up behind him. "Nice to see you, too," Sokka said. "So, what brings you to my fine abode?"

"I need somebody to help me," she said. "And I'm pretty sure that you're the best chance I've got."

Katara leapt to her feet, pulling the water out of the jars near the door. She surged the water out, wrapping around the girl, and pulling her into the house. She slammed the girl against the floor, freezing her in place. "How did you get into the city?" She shouted. Sokka was flabbergasted. The girl let out a cry of fear. Aang popped up, and Toph leaned around the corner where she had been snoozing.

"Katara, what are you doing?" Sokka shouted.

"Answer me, circus freak!" Katara shouted. The girl quailed. Toph scowled, then flicked her hand. Katara was tossed from her feet by a shelf of earth, and she lost control of her bending for a moment.

"Who do you think I am?" the girl asked. Then, in that hung-over, bleary state of mind he was in, Sokka finally recognized her. She was almost exactly like Ty Lee. A bit shorter, a bit pudgier, but she had almost the same voice. Toph stood, walking down to her. Toph offered the girl her hand. The girl took it.

"She's not Sugarqueen," Toph said. "She's completely different. To me, anyway."

"What's your name?" Aang asked. Katara still stared suspiciously at the girl.

"Kwan Go," she said.

"Lying," Toph said. She shook her head. "Don't lie to me again."

"Please, they might be listening," she implored. Toph shook her head again.

"If they were, I'd feel them," she said. "Speak, or you're going through the wall."

She glanced at Sokka, then Aang, and then the two girls, who were ironically the only ones here who'd made threats against her. "My name is Zhu Di," she said. "I met Sokka at Ba Sing Se University, but when they saw me talking to you..." she shook her head, as though trying to banish demons.

"What do you want?" Katara asked, cooling down a bit.

"People are disappearing from the University," Zhu Di said. "At first it was people who talked about the war, even academically. Now, it's a lot of other people. I heard that you were looking to talk to an astronomer?" she asked. Toph nodded. "I think they're trying to make him disappear, too."

"And what do you want from us?" Aang asked.

"I don't want anybody else I care about disappearing," Zhu Di said. She might have been Ty Lee's spitting image, but in terms of personality, they were nothing alike. "You're the Avatar. You could help stop this."

Aang looked at her, then nodded. Katara turned to her brother, though, and frowned. "And you're just going to accept this?" she asked.

"We travel with the Avatar," Sokka pointed out. "These kind of things tend to happen."

* * *

Ty Lee flashed along the forest on her eel hound. While Mongoose Dragons were unparalleled for their durability and mobility, eel hounds couldn't be beaten for speed. She wondered if one of these could outrun Appa. She pulled the lizard to a slower pace as she came across something strange. There was a great rut dug into the ground, here. Like something had come crashing through. Great spines and clumps of reddened hair covered the ground. She leaned down, feeling the hair. It was unpleasantly familiar.

She heard a sound up above, and dismounted her beast. She hopped up the cliff easily enough, and peered into what looked like a non-natural cave, almost like an archway into the cliff, which had caved in and become nothing but a path to nowhere. Ty Lee moved closer, listening to that groaning sound. Her eyes grew wide as she finally caught a glimpse of that figure, huge and white and fuzzy, huddling in the cave. Some of its fur was reddened, and spines stuck out of it, probably quite painfully.

"Appa?" she asked, the beast turned toward her, as though alarmed. She took a few cautious steps toward it. "It's okay, big buddy. I'm not going to hurt you."

The thing bellowed at her in distress, but didn't do anything else. She moved even closer. She held out her hand, walking slowly toward it. Its big eyes were locked on her. She touched its snout. It let out a grunt, then licked her, its huge tongue knocking her back a few steps. She laughed at that, even though the situation was quite dire. She moved to its side again, feeling its flesh through its fur. She focused in on it. "Oh, you poor, poor thing," she said. "You've been through so much, haven't you?"

She felt along its skin, where its energy was all knotted up. "So much pain. But you're still happy to see an old friend, aren't you?" she said. There were suddenly tears in her eyes. "If only everybody could be so happy to see old friends."

The sky bison groaned lightly, and settled down a bit. She backed out into the sunlight. "Don't worry, big buddy," she said. "I'm going to find somebody to help you. You'll be alright, I promise."

She moved away from the hole and down the defile. "Where am I going to find help?" she asked herself. "Where am I going to find somebody to help me?" She knew she could go back to Azula, but Azula wouldn't help Appa, just like she wouldn't help a turtle-duck. Mai, even on her best days, only tolerated animals. Maybe she could find the Avatar, tell him that his bison was here, that it was safe.

She moved back toward where she'd left her eel hound. "Come on, there's got to be somebody out there who'll help me," she said.

"Ty Lee?" Suki's voice came out of the woods. "Is that you?"

Ty Lee's eyes lit up. "SUKI!" she shouted, leaping at the much larger woman and tackling her with a hug. She wasn't wearing her face-paint, for once, and her auburn hair was only held in place with her hairpiece. "It's been so long! Where've you been?"

"Walking the Earth," Suki said, a smirk on her face. She pushed Ty Lee away for a moment, looking down at her clothing. "Alright, I'm not usually one for bowing to trends of modesty or fashion, but I have to ask. What the _hell_ are you wearing?"

"These are my circus clothes!" she declared happily. Suki frowned.

"But the circus is leagues away," she said. Ty Lee frowned sadly. She still hadn't had a chance to meet up with them. "What are you doing this close to Ba Sing Se? Were you hoping to meet up with the Avatar? We heard he was coming this direction."

"I was," Ty Lee said, truthfully, "but things keep getting in the way," she looked back at the cave. "Suki, I need some help. Appa's back there, and he's hurt. Can you help me?"

"What do you mean, he's back there? I thought he and Aang were inseparable," she said.

"He was stolen from Aang in Si Wong," Ty Lee said, moving up the cliff again. Suki followed easily. "Because of that, we almost died in the desert."

"He left you behind?" Suki asked. She seemed dubious. Ty Lee stared at her feet.

"I had to make a choice," she said. "I stand by it. But I hope that this isn't the end. There is a happy ending out there. I know it."

Suki smirked. "And if there is one, you'd be the one to find it," she came to a stop outside the cave. She peered in. Appa moved a bit closer to the entrance, his broad nose sticking out into the sun. Suki smiled, patting it. "Don't worry, Appa. You're going to be alright."

"Can you help him?" Ty Lee asked.

"I'll wrangle in the girls," she said, nodding. "He'll be back on all six of his feet in no time."

Ty Lee was happy. Everything was going to be alright. And then, she would find some way to bring Mai and Azula and Aang and Sokka and Katara and Toph together, and have peace for all of them. There _was_ a happy ending out there. It fell to her to find it.


	16. Enemies of the State

**This one wasn't easy to write. Had to run through a few versions before I found one which stuck. This is the version that stuck. I really should have done more with Toph's mother. Ah, well, there's always next season.**

**The ending for this one (both of them) surprised me as I was writing them. I knew what I was doing with Toph, first, but when Sokka came up first, I got an idea, and ran with it until it was kicking and screaming and begging for somebody to save it from the bad, bad man. Wait. Never mind that.**

* * *

Long Feng tried very hard not to be angry. He one leaf of the papers that had been delivered to his feet. "Do I need to say that I am not impressed?" Long Feng asked. Secretariat Ning looked sheepish. Han, on the other hand, looked bored. "The Avatar is spreading propaganda, and you have done nothing to stop him?"

"We cannot physically track him all the time," Ning said. "He can fly. We cannot."

"Don't give me excuses, Ning. Give me results!" Long Feng ordered. Ning looked contrite. "Take all of these and make it abundantly clear that spreading propaganda in Ba Sing Se will not be tolerated. Be as stern as you dare."

"Yes, Grand Secretariat," Ning said. He bowed, then turned and walked out of Long Feng's chambers. Han was about to do likewise, but Long Feng forestalled him.

"Han, your report on the ruffian on the lower ring has some interesting... aspects to it," Long Feng said. Han shrugged, and followed as Long Feng began to moved down the long passageway. It was a long walk from the Undercity to their facility at Laogai. Han didn't flag, though. They passed the dimly lit chambers where the Cultural Authority did their necessary work. "I take it his is still in cycle?"

"He will be for another hour. We need to be sure that the process holds," Han said idly. Long Feng nodded, and opened the metal door into the metal room. A long time ago, these rooms had been just carved into the stone, but a few mishaps with earthbenders during the reign of the 49th Earth King caused them to reconsider their strategy. _Nobody_ could bend metal. Dominating the room was a circular track, about chest high, with a bright lantern placed on it.

Long Feng ducked under the track and stood at its center. The man bound into the chair was wild-haired and looked to have had little sleep, even before finding himself a guest of the Dai Li. His pupils were as dilated as they could get, and a thin trail of drool ran down his chin. Long Feng had Han activate the lamp again. "There is no war in Ba Sing Se," Long Feng said calmly. "Here, you are safe. Here, you are free."

The young man stared. "Safe. Free," he said, dully.

"Tell me about the spies, Jet," Long Feng said.

"Firebenders," Jet said, his eyes locked on nothing. "Came from the March of Chin. The old man heated his tea. Firebenders. Tried to silence me. Killed my family. Have to kill them all..."

"There is no war with the Fire Nation," Long Feng said smoothly. He turned, and nodded to Han. Han shrugged, and rotated the lamp a bit faster. "Who were these people?"

"Old. Grey beard. Gold eyes. Firebender. Young. Black hair. Gold eyes. Scarred face. Firebender," Jet said.

"Thank you, Jet," Long Feng said. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll, handing it to Han. He scanned it briefly.

"Are you certain of this?" Han asked.

"I could not be more certain," Long Feng said, a smile coming to his lips. "General Iroh is in Ba Sing Se. And the Dark Prince is with him."

"And what are you going to do about them?" Han asked.

"We will collect them, obviously," he said. "But in due time. I want to know why they have come to this city. And I highly doubt General Iroh would be as forthcoming as young Jet, here. They will be observed," Long Feng ordered. "When they're purpose becomes clear, then we shall move against them. And condition the boy well. I think I may have a use for him. Clear?"

"Perfectly, Grand Secretariat," Han said. Long Feng smiled. Another threat to Ba Sing Se, located and neutralized. He rubbed the trailing wisps of his mustaches and beard, pondering. What if, he pondered, there was a way that he could remove the Avatar so readily. He looked at the pamphlet he held in his sleeve. Perhaps it would be prudent if Long Feng found this Bison before the Avatar did.

* * *

Appa looked good. A lot better than he had when Ty Lee found him. He flopped on his back, groaning happily as she rubbed his belly. She was happy that he seemed to be his old, jolly, magical flying self. Suki walked around, examining the area. Ty Lee bounded to her side

"What's wrong, Suki?" she asked.

"I'm wondering where the Boarcupine went," Suki said. "There's a lot of things which are bugging me."

Ty Lee frowned. Suki just leveled her gaze at her. "What?"

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" Suki said. Ty Lee glanced around.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not an idiot, girl," she said. Her brow drew down. She kicked one of the manacles which had bound Appa's legs away. "You were with the Avatar. I know beyond any doubt. But you also fought against him in Omashu."

"I didn't, I mean I..." Ty Lee said. The other girls were still a ways away, but they were far closer than Ty Lee wanted. What if they overheard?

"Don't try to deny it," Suki said quietly. She glanced back at the others. "I have sources which I cannot help but believe. So tell me, Ty Lee. Who's side are you on?"

"Everybody's," Ty Lee said. Appa perked its ear up, then let out a worried bellow. It was all the warning that anybody got. A blast of blue fire lanced out of the forest, smashing a tree down at the edge of the copse. Ty Lee looked around, and she spotted Azula, coming from the trees on a Mongoose dragon. Her face was an expressionless mask, but Ty Lee could tell she was smirking on the inside.

"Well, what do we have here?" Azula asked. "The Avatar's beast, but no Avatar? What does that make you, his fangirls?"

"Aang isn't here, Azula," Suki said. Wait, when had Suki _ever_ seen Azula? How could she _possibly_ know her?

"I knew this was a waste of time," Mai muttered.

"Well, that's unfortunate," she said. She glanced at them, then at the beast. "It does raise some interesting possibilities, though."

"Azula, don't do this," Ty Lee said quietly.

"Even if the Avatar isn't here, any friend of his is an enemy of mine," she said, dismounting with a leap and hurling a blast of fire at Suki. Suki snapped her fan into a complete circle, an impromptu shield. She deflected the blast away, and then cast her fan to the ground. It was glowing red hot.

Ty Lee looked as the other Kyoshi Warriors began to bound down the hill, shields and fans readied. They surrounded Suki, standing between the girls and Appa. "Three against five?" Mai asked. "Hardly seems fair."

"Don't worry," Azula said, her smirk breaking through. "Well just have Ty Lee sit it out so it'll be a fair fight."

Mai hurled her blades, with such force and precision that one of the warriors was driven steadily back out of formation, and finally pinned down under that sustained fire. Azula's tactic was just to smash them to bits under her firebending. They managed to part and avoid her attacks, but she was just toying with them. Ty Lee could tell. She was paralyzed. How could she fight Suki, the first friend she made on Kyoshi? But by the same token, how could she fight Azula, the first friend she made ever? Suki pulled her other fan and the Sword of Kyoshi.

"You have to make a choice," Suki said, breaking from formation and punting Mai away as she spun toward a new target. "We can win this if you stand with us!"

Ty Lee just stared, unable to move. Unable to choose. There _was_ a happy ending. Where was it? Why was it so hard to see? Suki moved against Azula, keeping the Princess moving to try to strike at her. Suki moved fast, striking faster. Even Azula had a hard time keeping out of Suki's warpath. The others began to close around Mai. No. This couldn't be right. Everybody was supposed to be happy! Azula was going to stop playing soon!

"Join this rabble? You must be as idiotic as you look," Azula said, before flipping over Suki's stab and smacking the sword into a tree. "She knows where her loyalties lie."

"Can we just end this? All this color is making me nauseous," Mai said, her eyes flicking around. Knives jutted out from between her lowered fingers as she lined up her attacks. Azula twisted around a backhand strike and smashed Suki away with a loud bang.

"Fine. Kill them all," she said.

No. No, this couldn't be happening. She wasn't going to let her friends die. She started to move, charging into the fray, and lashing out with her fists, precise, and devastating with her Dim Mak. Her fists lashed out, striking at pressure points and blocking chi. One of them stared at her, eyes growing wide, and then fell, paralyzed, to the ground. Ty Lee looked up. Suki stared at her, the betrayal clear in her features. "So. I guess we know where you stand," Suki said grimly.

Ty Lee moved again, flashing into the midst of that group surrounding Mai. She struck and weaved and never stopped moving. The Kyoshi Warriors fell one by one, until there was only Suki left, still holding off Azula, even though Azula had put all of her effort into killing the descendant of Kyoshi. Suki actually upended Azula, snatching up her now mostly-cooled fan. Azula smiled up at her, a mean, feral grin. "Don't you know what they say about fans? They just make fire hotter."

"I will not be lectured by a child," Suki said. But Ty Lee was fast. She ran to her old friend's back and struck at the pressure points that held her upright. Suki turned, rage in her eyes, and swung at Ty Lee. Why hadn't that worked? Ty Lee then just started striking at _every_ pressure point, until Suki started to flag, weaken, and drop. Azula stood, swiping one of her bangs aside.

"You certainly took long enough to join us," Azula said. She turned to the Bison, who was backing away into the woods. "What a wonderful gift this beast's head would be to my father."

Azula began to bend, lightning gathering around her fingertips. Ty Lee got into Azula's way, putting on the most innocent expression she could. "Hey, Azula, we've got a way into the city!" she said.

"Get out of my way, Ty Lee!" Azula shouted. Appa finally let out one last roar and fled, flying away above the trees. Azula stared at its exit with narrowed golden eyes, then let the electricity drain away. Her gaze snapped back to Ty Lee for a moment, but Azula took a deep breath, then her expressionless mask returned. "This is something of a godsend," Azula said.

Ty Lee had to agree to that. She stared down at the girls, paralyzed and immobile on the ground. They stared back at her with hate, betrayal. They didn't know. This was probably the only thing Ty Lee could have done to save their lives. She wanted to apologize, to make everything alright. But Azula still needed her. Probably now more than ever. She looked back to her oldest friend.

"So what now?"

"Now, we resume the hunt," Azula said. "The Avatar is close. I can almost smell him."

"Are you sure that isn't wet bison you're smelling?" Mai asked, kicking a clump of white hair. Ty Lee stared after Appa, bidding it good luck, godspeed, and hoping that _something_ good would come of today. As it was, she felt like she needed to take a bath. Badly.

* * *

The knocking at the door startled everybody, the newcomer most of all. She practically hid behind Sokka, peeking over his shoulder. Aang opened the door. Golden eyes and a fixed, dead grin stared back at him. Joo Dee was back. The first one, to be exact. "Hello Avatar Aang, and Katara, and Sokka, and Toph," she said. She obviously must have missed Zhu Di, who was standing behind Sokka. Wait a second. Joo Dee; Zhu Di... Aang raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to you? I thought the Dai Li threw you in jail," Katara said. Sokka just edged toward one of the side rooms. Joo Dee let out a stilted, extremely unnatural laugh.

"What, jail? Of course not. The Dai Li are protectors of our heritage," she said. Which had exactly nothing to do with what Katara had asked. There was a sound of a door sliding closed, and Sokka moved toward them.

"You disappeared pretty fast at that party," Toph pointed out.

"I simply went on a short vacation to Lake Laogai," Joo Dee said. "It was quite refreshing."

Aang wasn't convinced. "And what about that strange woman who replaced you? The one who also called herself Joo Dee?" Sokka asked.

"I'm Joo Dee."

Aang growled. "Enough of this. Why are you here?"

"Littering is a crime in Ba Sing Se, and dropping fliers in the city is illegal without proper clearance. You could seek clearance, and perhaps be granted leave in four to six weeks," she said, reaching behind her and dropping an enormous stack of leaflets onto the floor. It looked to be just about all of the ones Aang had printed up and dropped a few nights ago. Aang's anger began to return.

"We can't just sit around waiting for permission for everything," he said.

"It is absolutely forbidden to hand out fliers in the city," Joo Dee said cheerfully.

That just teared it. "I don't care about your rules. We are not waiting, and we are not asking permission!" he shouted, practically red in the face. "I'm going to find my bison, and you are going to stay out of my way!" Joo Dee shrunk back as he shouted, her fixed grin and dead eyes fading to a look of real terror. Aang slammed the door in her face. Sokka just shook his head.

"Oh, that's going to come back and bite us in the blubber," He said. Aang just stared, his brow set low.

"I don't care. We're not going to do things their way anymore. Toph pumped her hands into the air.

"Yeah! Let's break some rules!" she said, then she turned to the right and punched, blasting out one of the spare rooms and tearing apart the outer wall. Everybody stared at her. "What? Too soon?"

From the opposite side of the hallway, Zhu Di peeked out of her hiding place. "Is she gone?"

"Why were you hiding? She's pretty harmless," Katara said. "Annoying, but harmless."

"Kinda like Loverboy, here," Toph said, giving Sokka a shove. He scowled at her.

"She used to be one of the professors at the University," Zhu Di said, glancing around. "She was the head of political studies, specializing in the West Continent. Then, she vanished completely. I thought she was dead."

"Wait, that was a professor?" Sokka asked. "She seemed so..."

"Empty," Aang said. He looked at the girl. "Like somebody hollowed her out."

The girl nodded. "I think they're doing that to the other professors, and some of the students, too."

Aang stared at the sheaf of papers, and then at the hole that Toph had just put into the side of this perfectly good building. She was right. It _was_ time to break some rules.

* * *

Sokka was in love. The diagrams, the science, the unquestionable rationality. The attractive older lady expounding. And the facts, glorious facts! No mysticism, no spirit nonsense. Just science! In this particular instance, she was talking about things like 'gravity' and 'rotational physics', stating that mathematical principles were running the universe. Sokka couldn't have agreed more.

"Sokka, we have a job to do," Zhu Di said. "You can't hang out all day in a physics class."

"But she was just getting to the part with the moon!" Sokka said.

"The moon doesn't obey the laws of physics," Zhu Di said in annoyance, dragging him away. "I took this course last year. It's a spiritual entity without mass. It's too big and too close to the Earth to orbit. If it were a piece of rock, it'd have smacked into the Earth a long time ago."

"Oh," Sokka said. Suddenly, Yue being so large in the sky seemed a bit less normal. Zhu Di kept hauling him around. It was like having Ty Lee back, but in a way, not. The latter was like traveling with an enthusiastic monkey, whereas the former was simply driven and unyielding. The two of them left the amphitheater and joined the others who were waiting in the hallways.

"Did you find anything?" Aang asked.

"Only that he's obsessed with science," Zhu Di said dourly. She pointed up the hallways. "I can't remember which one his office is, but it's in this department. Look for a plaque on the door that says 'Professor Lung'," she paused, looking at Toph. "Maybe you should stay with somebody else, Toph?"

"Why? Because I can't read? Well, his office is right there," she said, pointing. Everybody looked where she was pointing. The plaque read 'broom closet'. There was a moment of silence. "That's not even an office is it?" she asked. "Fine. I'll stick with Sweetness."

The group quickly dissolved away, looking through the hallways that ran away from this one for Lung's office. Zhu Di kept close by Sokka. "So what's the deal with you and her, anyway?" she asked.

"Toph? We're like brother and sister," He said.

"I'm guessing you're not the brother," Zhu Di muttered. Sokka scowled.

"I've guessed who you are," Sokka said. "When did you come here? And why?"

Zhu Di gave him a glare, looking up and down the hallways. They were vacant. "I came here two years ago," she said. "I didn't like the way my life was shaping up. Arranged marriages, a lifetime of ignorant domestic servitude. Not my idea of a fulfilling life. So I applied for an academic exchange between the Fire Academy and Burning Rock University, and the instant I landed on the shore, I kept walking."

"Really? That sort of sounds like what your sister did," Sokka said.

"Please. She joined the _circus_. What sort of life is juggling and walking on your hands?" she shook her head derisively. She shrugged. "Although, I have to admit, the idea wouldn't have occurred to me if she and Aan Jee hadn't done it first."

Sokka frowned. "Wait, there's three of you out here?"

"As far as I know," Zhu Di said.

"And all of you more or less identical?" Sokka asked.

"What are you talking about, 'more or less'?" she asked.

"Ty Lee's taller than you. And fitter," Sokka recounted. "Smaller bum. Bigger t..."

"Yeah, well, she never was able to sit down in one place for more than five minutes," Zhu Di dimissed. She stopped, looking at a door. "Nope. Doctor Gan. It doesn't surprise me that she'd do something which requires almost no ability to focus."

"I wouldn't be so hard on her. She saved my life a couple of times," Sokka said.

"Like I said, it probably didn't take a lot of focus," Zhu Di snarked. "She wouldn't last a day having to hide her identity from the Dai Li."

"Who are those people, anyway?" Sokka asked. They were running out of hallway to search. Zhu Di gave him a glance.

"Well, you're with the Avatar, so they'd probably give _you_ a warning, so you've heard their spiel. They're the secret police of Ba Sing Se. It's against the law to even talk about them," she said. She scrutinized a plaque, then kept walking. "They were formed by Avatar Kyoshi during the reign of the 46th Earth King, to prevent the wanton destruction of the Ba Sing Se riots from ever happening again. The current Grand Secretariat is a man named Long Feng."

"Kyoshi formed them?" Sokka asked. He shook his head. "And how do you know so much about them?"

"I took my time escaping," Zhu Di said. "It's _astounding_ how much a secret police just leaves lying around, so sure that nobody's going to steal it," she hesitated, then reached into her own bag. "I also found these. They were supposed to be delivered to the Avatar, but, you know... Dai Li."

Sokka skimmed over the documents she handed over. A letter for Aang from something called a 'guru'. A letter for Toph, which was about as useful to her as a paper door in a fortress. A letter to him, from Suki, no less. He unfurled that one and started to read it.

_Things are a bust out here, and we heard you were in Ba Sing Se. We might need to pop in and have a visit. Keep the Avatar nice and safe for us. _

_Suki._

Sokka smiled. It would be nice to see a familiar face. Even if it was behind unfamiliar face paint. From down the hall, Sokka heard Aang's shout. He looked up, chucked the documents into his bag, and started running. Zhu Di was close behind. They all came to the door the Avatar was pointing up at. He grinned. "I found it!"

"Well?" Katara asked. The door was quite unlike those around near it. At the end of the hall, it was a massive door instead of the wooden slats which other professors used. He shrugged, then bent the large, stone door out of his way. Sokka reached over and pointed at the handle. Aang shrugged. They walked into the room.

It was torn to shreds. Sokka groaned, dropping to his knees. "Why does this always happen to us!" he shouted. Katara slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Somebody's still here," she whispered. Everybody looked around, but couldn't see it. But Sokka could hear it. A slow, scraping sound. So quiet, it was only audible because of the quiet of the university.

"Where?" Aang asked quietly. Sokka pointed roughly where he thought it was. Toph smirked, then made a downward punching motion. Stone shifted, and a man let out a surprised yell, before falling to the floor of the vast chamber. He was wearing green robes and a sharp conical hat. "What did you do with Professor Lung!" Aang demanded.

"That was an attack against the Cultural Authority," the man said, picking himself up.

"You haven't begun to see us attack," Katara said, pulling the water out of her flask into a long whip. "Answer Aang's question!"

"He has been taken for reeducation," the Dai Li agent said. "As you will be."

Sokka turned. Zhu Di was gone. And another green robed agent was standing in the doorway behind them. "We're surrounded!" he shouted. Toph gave a back handed motion, and the stone floor hurled the man away. She was grinning.

"I'll hold them off. Find something useful," she said. Sokka didn't need to be told twice. He dashed through the paper which had settled like autumn leaves on the floor, swiping them aside in broad motions, trying to see as much as he could. Something useful. Anything. Toph easily held back the two agents; it was earthbending against earthbending, and she was much better at it.

Still, Katara and Aang needed to help her. Two Dai Li agents quickly became three. Five. Seven. For reasons he could only assume were his own apparent uselessness, the whole battle raged around him, more or less ignoring Sokka's presence. Ordinarily he'd be annoyed, but right now, he was busy. This wasn't doing the job. This was all thesis and theory. Sokka spotted something that looked like a personal bag in a corner, papers and miscellany pouring out of it.

Sokka charged through the combat, having to slide under his sister's water whip and dive over a sudden platform which rose, hurling a Dai Lee into the ceiling. When he skidded to a stop, he kicked the papers apart and started flitting between them. A letter to his wife. A letter to the dean. A letter to his... mistress? Salty dog, Lung. Then, Sokka saw something. He picked it up, reading it quickly. Lung had planned to make observances of a solar eclipse, which would be occurring in the middle of summer. He did the math, and knew that Lung couldn't have been intending the one just past. That was by all methods of accounting, the end of summer. He looked at the bottom. Yes. Confirmed. He was leaving next spring. There was going to be another solar eclipse in the middle of next summer.

"Aang! I've got it! We need to get out of here!"

"Easier done than said, Sparky," Toph said. She then turned and just demolished a wall, letting light spill in from the outside. Recognizing their only available exit, since the halls outside were probably crawling with Dai Li, the entire group made a break for it. They stumbled into the light, and found themselves just as surrounded. Dozens of Dai Li agents, ringing just this one bend of the campus. Had they expected Toph to do that? One man stepped forward from the rest. He was a middle aged fellow, his eyes shrewd and his mustaches and beard trailing. He spoke with a quiet, deep voice. Sokka recognized it. This was the man who brought Katara and Toph into that party for the Earth King's bear.

"Avatar Aang, you have attacked members of the Cultural Authority. This constitutes an act of war against Ba Sing Se," he said. "By the powers vested in me as Grand Secretariat of the Dai Li, I declare you enemies of the state."

"You can't imprison us," Aang said, his eyes hard and angry. Long Feng – that is, if Zhu Di's information was correct – just smirked at the Avatar.

"I have no intention of imprisoning you. Doing so to the Avatar would be a political boondoggle of monumental proportions. You are, however, banished from this city for life. You have forty eight hours to vacate your house and leave Ba Sing Se. Otherwise, you will be removed. You will not enjoy being removed."

Aang stepped forward. "You can't keep me away from Appa," he said. "I don't care what rules you claim or laws you enforce. I am not going to leave unless I have Appa back."

"Then it would be a shame if you didn't spend your last two days finding your beloved bison," Long Feng said, smoothly. His tone became hard. "Because they are the last two days you are ever going to get."

* * *

"What am I going to do?" Aang asked, walking through the streets of Ba Sing Se. Despite it being near midday, the streets were emptied. Probably because of the wide contingent of Dai Li which was probably flanking them even as they moved. Sokka shook his head. "I've looked for Appa for a month, for nothing. And now I've only got two days!"

"It's going to be alright, Aang," Katara said, clutching his hand at his side. "We'll find him. There's got to be a way."

Sokka frowned, but then remembered something. He reached into his bag and pulled out the scroll for Aang. "Aang, this was supposed to be delivered to you weeks ago. The Dai Li intercepted it," he said, handing the scroll to Aang. He read it quickly, brightening.

"This is from a guru living at the Eastern Air Temple!" he exclaimed, coming to a stop. Sokka scratched his head.

"What _is_ a guru, anyway? I thought it was some kind of poisonous fish."

"That's Fugu, Sparky," Toph said.

"And speaking of that. Where did 'Sparky' come from?" Sokka asked. Toph just shrugged.

"A guru is a spiritual leader," Aang said. "He claims he was a lay brother of the Air Nomads before the Purge, and that he helped Avatar Roku realize his full potential."

"Really? Wouldn't that make him, like, two hundred?" Toph asked.

"More like a hundred and seventy," Aang said. Everybody stared at him. "What? Kyoshi lived to be two hundred and thirty years old. When she gave birth to her last child, her first child had already died of _old age_. It shouldn't come as any real surprise."

"Aang, if you mastered the Avatar State, you could come back here and just push through the Dai Li like they weren't even there," Katara said.

"That's my sister," Sokka said. "There was also a message for you, Toph."

"Pardon my enthusiasm," Toph said, handing the scroll to his sister. She read it.

"Toph, it's from your mother. She's in Ba Sing Se right now!" she said. Toph scowled, crossing her arms. "She wants to talk to you."

"Maybe I don't want to talk to her," Toph said stubbornly. Sokka sighed.

"Toph, when Dad left us, we had a chance to leave Aang and go see him. We didn't, because it would have meant he'd had to go on alone. Your mother is right here, right now. You should go see her. At the very least, you can show her how great an earthbender you are."

"Don't try to butter me up, Loverboy," Toph said. But there was a bit of a smile, there. Katara handed the scroll back to Sokka. She looked at him for a moment, hope obvious in her features.

"Was there anything... from Dad?" she asked. Sokka looked away, shaking his head. "Oh. I guess it was too much to hope for."

"Don't worry, little sister. I'm sure we'll meet up with him someday," Sokka said. He stopped, leaning against a wall. Something was bothering him. "Guys... did any of you see where Zhu Di ran off to?"

There was a chorus of nopes, and one 'I didn't see _anything_' from Toph. "I'm worried about her," Sokka said. "She might be tougher than her sister, but she doesn't have any of Ty Lee's skills. Do you think the Dai Li took her?"

"If they did, what could we do about it?" Katara asked. "Those people come and go like ghosts."

"They have to be headquartered somewhere," Sokka said. Aang just shook his head.

"We don't have time for this!" he said. "We've only got two days. Are we going to spend them looking for some Fire Nation spy, or for Appa?"

Sokka looked at the rest of the group. "We've stood by you this far, Aang. Give us a direction, and I'll get us there," he said. Toph uncrossed her arms.

"You know it ain't gonna be easy to get rid of me," Toph said, a smile pulling at her face.

Katara looked at him, and gathered his hand in both of hers. "I'm with you. You know that," she said.

Aang looked at everybody, and sighed. "I could just walk away, go to the Eastern Air Temple and become the Avatar the world needs. But I would be doing it for the wrong reasons. We came to this city with nothing but hope. Now, Long Feng is trying to take that hope away from us. Avatar Kyoshi created the Dai Li," Aang said. "That means that Avatar Aang will have to dissolve them."

Sokka smiled, nodding. "Do you have a plan?" he asked.

"I'll come up with one. After all, I've got the greatest mind in the Water Tribe to help me," he said. Katara brightened. "So. How should we do this, Sokka?"

Katara looked a bit annoyed at that, but Sokka held in a laugh. He scratched an invisible beard. "We should start looking at night. It'll be harder for the Dai Li to follow us, then."

"And in the meantime, I can see what my mother is so desperate to talk about," Toph said. Everybody turned to her. "What? I can't have an internal thought process?"

"Not usually, no," Katara said. Toph smirked, and slugged her arm. "Ow!"

"You go ahead back to the house," Sokka said. "My maps of the city should already be out. Me and Toph'll be back from her mother's in no time."

"Meeting the parents, eh?" Katara asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Shut up!" Both Sokka and Toph said as one.

* * *

Iroh slid the door closed, beaming from ear to ear. Zuko just gave a glance in his general direction, then sighed. "I have good news, Nephew!" Iroh said. "Some gentlemen from the Upper Ring have decided to give us our own shop! I even get to name it."

Zuko scowled. "I'll try to contain my excitement," he said flatly. The teahouse had emptied, it being too late for the early morning, start-your-day tea drinkers, and too early for the evening, wind-down-and-relax tea drinkers. Zuko set down his tray and leaned against a pole by the door.

"Is something bothering you, Nephew?" Zuko just looked away. Iroh sighed, and took a step closer. "I think I know what this is about. You didn't go drinking that night, did you?"

"You know I did."

"I think not," Iroh said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a folded pamphlet, showing the face of Appa, the Avatar's sky bison. Zuko glanced at it, then looked away. "Please, I know how much you want to finish your quest and return home, but this could be a home as well. Home is a word, Nephew. No matter where you go, if you are at peace with yourself and those around you, you will never lack for it. If you try to capture the Avatar again, you might upset all of the good things which are happening for us."

"Happening for you!" Zuko shouted. "You're the one who's getting every one of your life's ambitions handed to you on a platter! All you ever want to do is drink tea and blather nonsense! And now you get to do it all day, every day. Congratulations. But what about me? I was supposed to have a destiny, Uncle. I was supposed to be somebody important!"

"Nephew, there is nothing wrong with wanting naught but peace and prosperity in your life. One does not need power to be happy."

"You don't," Zuko said. He snatched the page away from Iroh. "This was supposed to be my apotheosis. I was supposed to capture the Avatar and restore my honor. But now, I can't even do that!"

Iroh leaned back. "What do you mean?" he asked. Zuko seemed to be in a terrible state.

"I can't even..." he blurted, but then, he caught himself, and started again in Yqanuac. "_I can't even firebend anymore. It's like I'm a child again, fumbling and weak, and pathetic. I can barely light a candle._"

Iroh shook his head sadly. "_Rage is the motivating force behind firebending, as most understand it,_" Iroh said. "_You have run out of rage. Possibly, because you are falling into despair. I am ashamed that I did not see it sooner_."

"I am not in despair," Zuko said quietly. "It's just that every time try to see my destiny, it's further and further away."

"Is it your destiny that you're looking at?" Iroh asked. "Or is it the destiny that others have chosen for you?"

"Does it matter?" Zuko asked.

"It is all that matters," Iroh said quietly. Zuko stared, then took off his apron and threw it onto one of the tables.

"I'm going for a walk," he said.

"Zuko," he said, not caring who heard. Zuko just gave him a glance, and walked out the door. He didn't come back that evening, and that night, Iroh dreamed of the Siege of Ba Sing Se.

* * *

Sokka waited outside, not wanting to intrude on Toph's reunion with her mother. It was the least he could do. He wouldn't want everybody horning in when he got to meet his father again. Well, except for Katara, but she'd earned it as much as he did. He paced around the building. It was a very nice spot, somewhat on the path between the University and Aang's now defunct house.

He walked in circles, trying to imagine the conversation Toph would have with her mother. It did truly beggar the imagination. There would probably be violence involved. His ponderings were called to a halt when an attractive lady, about his age, turned a corner and walked ahead of him. She was quite easy on the eyes. "Well, I must say, it does me good to see someone like you on a day like this," Sokka said, turning on the old Water Tribe charm.

She turned around. Her eyes were grey, her hair dark. And her face was frozen in a horrible smile. Sokka's eyes went wide. He backed away. "Hello," she said, her voice sing-song and hopelessly bright. "I am Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else," he said, trying to get some distance from her. He bumped into somebody else, standing behind him. He looked down. This girl was probably a bit younger than he was, staring up at him with eyes green, but no less dead than those of the girl behind him. She smiled up, a frozen rictus of mirth. He moved away from her.

"Hello. I am Joo Dee," the short girl said cheerfully. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"Alright. I'm having a nightmare," Sokka said. "There's no way that there's an entire plague of crazy, freaky women who're all named Joo Dee."

"Please allow me to be your guide for the duration of your visit to of the greatest city in the world," both Joo Dees said in perfect unison. They walked toward him.

"Alright, this isn't funny anymore," Sokka said. He had a thought. He slapped himself really hard. "Ow! Okay. Not a dream."

"Sokka, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai," the Joo Dees said. Another Joo Dee approached from a side street. He recognized this one. This was the replacement Joo Dee that got sent after the party. "It would be rude of you to decline."

"Well, I've got years of experience being rude," Sokka said, trying to skirt away from all three. They began to walk after him, arms tucked in sleeves, identical frozen grins on their faces. "It's practically part of my character, after sarcasm and eating meat."

"Sokka, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai," the Joo Dees repeated. Sokka pulled out his machete, holding it in front of him. "It would be rude of you to decline."

"Stay out of my way, Joo Dee...s..." Sokka said. He looked at the house. They were shepherding him away from Toph. What were they planning? He tried to move forward, but they stood in his way. He steeled himself; even though he _really_ didn't want to be touched by these women, he knew he had to get through. He leapt forward, shoving the shortest Joo Dee aside. He moved past them, but then felt something pull tight around his neck. He was snared! From the alleyways ahead of him, more women, each in identical outfits, with almost identical haircuts, began to appear. They walked toward him as he tried to struggle.

"Hello," one of them said. She was not smiling. Her eyes were dark, her hair in that same style, but she wore an insignia on her dress, a ring of brown around green around a core of gold. The symbol of the Dai Li. "I am Joo Dee," she said flatly. "Sokka, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai. It would be rude of you to decline."

This Joo Dee, possibly the only real Joo Dee, lashed forward with her hands. A stone glove flew off of her hand and clasped over his, dragging him down to the ground. A second one slammed forward, gagging his mouth. She smiled then, slowly ratcheting up to the same horrible expression he saw on the others. But there was an element of authenticity to hers. She was just that crazy. "Please allow me to be your guide," she said, leaning down over Sokka, "for the _duration_ of your visit to the greatest city in the world."

* * *

Toph entered the building, feeling the structure of the building. She was glad she'd learned how to sound through the wood, otherwise, she would have been blind. Unlike most of the other buildings in this district, this one was all made of wood. Almost like somebody was intentionally trying to screw with her. She walked forward a few steps, feeling for that heartbeat. She looked up. Descending down the stairs was Poppy Beifong. Toph's mother.

"Alright. I'm here. What do you want?" Toph said. Her mother's hands went to her mouth, and she rushed down the stairs. Poppy gathered up Toph's hands and pulled them up toward her.

"Burning badgermoles, Toph, what happened to you?" she asked, a desperate concern in her voice. Toph scowled, pulling her hands away.

"I'm fine," she said. "Call it a result of unsuccessful diplomatic negotiations with the Fire Nation."

"They must have been so painful," Poppy said.

"You don't know the half of it," Toph muttered. She took a step back and crossed her scarred arms in front of her. "So. You're in Ba Sing Se. What's that all about?"

"I was worried about you," Poppy said.

"Alright, that wasn't a lie," Toph said. She felt around, but she couldn't sense anybody else touching the wooden floors. "Wait a minute. Where's Dad?"

"Lao didn't come," Poppy said. "He didn't understand."

"Didn't understand what?" Toph asked. Poppy sat down on the floor, her legs crossed. Toph raised an eyebrow. That wasn't very civil behavior from Mother.

"He still sees you as his weak, tiny, fragile, defenseless little lily," Poppy said. "That's why he called you Tuofu."

"Yeah. Thanks for not holding onto _that_ one," Toph rolled her eyes.

"Toph," Poppy said, reaching forward and taking Toph's hand. "I've paid off the bounty."

"What bounty?" Toph asked, playing dumb.

"The one you got for being the Blind Bandit," Poppy said. "Lao probably won't even recognize that the money's gone. He won't believe you deserved that sort of thing, anyway. I love the man, but he sees things his way or no way."

"Sounds like a few other people I know," Toph said. "You still haven't answered my question."

"I'm trying to keep you safe," Poppy said. "Ba Sing Se isn't safe for you."

"Oh, here we go," Toph said.

"No!" Poppy shouted, an uncharacteristic behavior to say the least. "For once, please listen to me, my daughter. If you had any idea how much of a risk I was taking coming here, you might appreciate what I'm trying to tell you. The Dai Li controls more than just the police, Toph. They control the _Earth King_. As long as you're here, they can hurt you, and I couldn't stand it if that happened to you."

Toph took a step back. Mother was telling the truth. Or at least, what she thought was the truth. "What risk are you taking coming here?" Toph asked slowly. She didn't like how this was going.

"Long Feng has been trying to get his hands on me, or somebody like me, for decades," Poppy said. "To him, I am still Yingsu Gangtie. His sworn enemy."

"You? Making enemies? Are you high on cactus juice or something?" Toph asked. Mother had never been anything but a demure, soft-spoken girl, raised to arrange flowers and simper girlishly. Then again, Toph had never heard her mother talk like this.

"We should leave. You came here with the Avatar, correct?" she asked. Toph nodded. "He needs to leave, too. The White Lotus is an enemy of the state. And now, you are too."

"The what?" Toph asked. She stopped, clapping a hand over her mother's mouth. Something wasn't right. She could hear something above. Something creaking. Like a weight, hanging on a rope. She took her hand away. "Mom, is there a chandelier in this room?"

"No," Mother said quietly. Toph turned and pressed her hand hard into the wood next to the door, feeling the vibrations as they moved down into the stone and out into the street. Loverboy wasn't outside anymore. Nobody was. Toph turned back.

"We're under attack," she said. She flexed and bent, feeling that stone which ran under the wooden slats of the house. The stone surged up and ruptured the wood, and then launched toward the sound above. She hadn't thought for a second that the Dai Li would hang by ropes from the ceiling.

Toph bent the stone up, aiming by ear alone. Huge blocks flew up and smashed through the roof. Wood splintered, and clay tiles began to tumble into the building. She stood next to her mother, crafting a thin shield of the falling material to keep it from shredding her, and she waited for that stone to start coming.

It didn't take long. She felt the fist of stone, a glove sent rocketing through the air, as it approached. She snapped the shield into a sledge hammer and spun, smashing the fist into dust. Another fist, coming at her from behind. She spun fast, dusting it. The men started hitting the ground. Men and women both, actually. Toph took up her stance, low and quiet. She waited.

A footstep. Hands of stone leapt at hers, trying to restrain her. She pulled up a box of bedrock, shielding herself and her mother from the simultaneous attacks. She then blasted the walls of stone outward, knocking back two of the Dai Li. She was knocking heads, but this time, she was doing it alone. There was no backup. And there were at least four Dai Li.

Toph spun, twisting up a great block of stone through the floor and hurled it at the Dai Li who was blocking the door. She got out of the way easily enough, but it was never Toph's intention to crush her. Instead, it was to smash open the door... and part of the wall, as it turned out. She then pulled hard, tearing out part of the structure of the building next door to summon up a column of stone which leapt into this house and pinned one of the Dai Li to a wooden beam.

"Is that the best you got? Y'all can't touch me! I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!" Toph shouted, furiously bending. They had abandoned their stone gloves for more conventional bending, something that she was above mastery at. Every block they hurled at her or her mother was caught, redirected, or just smashed to bits. As she was preparing to pin down another Dai Li, a rattle sounded in the pandemonium. Toph turned, but metal coiled around her hand.

She struggled to throw it off, but another chain rattled lower, pulling her leg out. She dug her other foot into the solid earth, holding her place, if not her balance. She bent a slender pillar of stone to keep her upright. She then snapped off part of that pillar and hurled it at the source of the chain on her foot. It landed with a loud thunk, and the chain fell away. She retook her stance and tried to bend her way out of the remaining chain. As she did, a third chain coiled around her other hand, locking shut. Metal! Damnation!

She tried to kick a rock at them, standing on opposite sides of the room from her. But when she did, the third one not pinned swung her chain and with a mighty heave, pulled Toph from her feet and onto her back on the wood. The last Dai Li finally bent his way out of the pin Toph put him in, and locked his surveyors chains onto Mother.

"Tuofu Beifong, Yingsu Gangtie," Secretariat Ning said from the street outside. "You are enemies of the state of Ba Sing Se. And you are now prisoners of the Dai Li."

* * *

_By all means, leave a review. Feedback is nice._


	17. The City of Horrors

**Possibly the longest chapter in this book, mostly because there was so much that needed to go into it. Still, I regret nothing.**

**Well, maybe a few things. But they're sorted out later. Namely, Zuko doesn't go to Lake Laogai on purpose, and the differences which result from that. And Toph, a prisoner rather than a jail-breaker, has to come up with a cunning plan. Still, it all works out in the end. For most of them.**

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes, staggering out of his room, that tiny hole in the back end of Ba Sing Se. He let out a groan, rubbing his face, trying to get those cobwebs out of his head. I am never drinking again, Zuko thought. Wait. Did he drink last night? He couldn't remember. He rubbed his face. What happened to his beard? Hmm. Must have shaved it and just forgotten about it. He shook his head.

"It's about time you woke up, dum-dum," Azula said, stirring a pot of jook. Zuko shrugged. "I was beginning to think you weren't ever getting up."

"Yeah, I was about to go in there and poke you with a stick," Mai said idly, lounging against the door.

"Oh, hah hah hah," Zuko said, dragging himself through the room. Ty Lee sat, her back on the floor and her bare feet up the wall. She stared up at him with milky, brown eyes.

"You're not feeling too well, are you?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "It's like there's something wrong with my head, and I can't figure it out. Something's just... off."

"Well, sort it out," Mai said. "I can't have you moping around all day. The last thing we need is for _him_ to find us down here."

Zuko frowned, rubbing his head. "Who?"

"Prince Aang, of the Air Empire" Azula said, shaking her head. "I swear, you'd lose your head if it weren't screwed on straight."

Zuko shook his head. This wasn't right. The sun flashed by the window. He sat down, cradling his head. Wait. This wasn't right. He rubbed the left side of his face. It didn't feel right. He quickly moved over to the tiny mirror which Uncle – wait, it wasn't Uncle. It was Azula – had put up in the lavatory. He stared. Two golden eyes. No beard. No hair. No scar.

"What's happening?" he asked. The sun flashed by the window. He turned, staggering out into the kitchen again. All of his childhood friends, the few people that he had ever had close contact with... why were they here? How had they gotten here? The sun flashed by the window.

Zuko shook his head, trying to get something to make sense. He felt bound. Tied down. And he was cold. He sweated, but he was cold. He moved to the door, throwing it open. "Where are you going, Zuzu?" Azula asked him. "You haven't had your breakfast yet."

Zuko fell out of the house, and lay on his back, staring up at the sky. The sun flashed through the sky, from left to right. From left to right. This wasn't right. This wasn't real. He closed his eyes.

"What is your name?" a voice called to him. Zuko opened his eyes. He wasn't outside. He was underground. The room was dark, and a metal track sat in the center of the room. A lantern rotated along it, and a man with green robes was standing in front of him. Zuko could feel the drool falling down his chin, the restraints on his arms. He knew he couldn't move. He knew he couldn't resist... physically. If he could have smirked, he would have.

"Lee," Zuko lied, not changing his expression, making his tone as flat as he could.

"I don't think you're telling the truth, Prince Zuko. What is your name?"

"My name is Lee," Zuko said. The lantern continued to rotate around its track. They'd made a mistake. They tried to dazzle him, hypnotize him with fire.

"Your name is not Lee. You are Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation," the man said.

"My name is Lee," he said.

"Why did you come to Ba Sing Se?" the man changed tack.

"To make tea with my uncle," Lee said. The man got annoyed, shaking his head.

"Perhaps the information you got was inaccurate," another voice asked. Zuko made sure not to glance to its source, just letting it appear to him as it would. It was another man in green robes, but this one did not wear the conical hat. He also had a gaping hole where one eye should be. Agni's blood... it was mister Han.

"It was accurate. It came from that 'freedom fighter'," the interrogator said.

"Then that means Jet believed it. It doesn't make it true," Han said. He looked at Zuko for a moment, then back to his contemporary. "Leave us. I will discover the truth of this."

The interrogator stopped the lantern and exited the room. Han watched him leave, then turned to Zuko. "You're a very lucky young man. Or would it be called luck. As I hear it, fire cannot dazzle the eyes of firebenders; they have trained too long, staring into that flame."

Zuko didn't make a sound, say a word, alter one whit. Han scowled. "You can drop the charade, child. I know you're still of your own mind," Han said. He made a wafting motion, and the band of stone over Zuko's brow crumbled away. "You should not be here."

"What do you want?" Zuko asked.

"That is a very good question," Han said. "I could ask it of you. Fortunately for you, I don't have a death wish. Come. Let's go back to your cell. You're safer there."

* * *

"I'm starting to get worried," Katara said, looking out into the street. "They've been gone way too long."

"I know," Aang shook his head. "Sokka may do a lot of things, but get lost isn't one of them."

Katara slid the door closed, still peering out into the early dawn. They'd waited the entire night for Sokka and Toph to return, but they never did. Instead, she and Aang had just gotten more and more worried. And now, their suspicions were all but confirmed.

"It must have been the Dai Li," she said. "Long Feng always had a weird look in his eye when he looked at Toph. How much you wanna bet that Toph's mother isn't even here?"

"I can't say," Aang said. She was surprised how evenly he was taking this. It was like he'd gone over the horizon of anger and reached a strange sort of equilibrium. It must be some sort of Air Nomad thing. "What I can say is that we're running out of time, and Long Feng just made a powerful enemy."

"I don't know how powerful we are," Katara said. "I might be a master waterbender, but you're not a realized Avatar. Not yet. Tui La, this couldn't have come at a worse time!"

There came a rapping at the door, loud and brash. Katara and Aang both snapped to attention like polar hounds. Katara opened the door. Staring down at her, with wild hair and a cocky smirk, was Jet. Her eyes went wide. "Hey there, Katara. I hear you're looking for–"

Now, it was Katara's turn to go over the horizon of anger. She slammed him with a surge of water from her flask. It knocked him back a few steps into the street. When she cleared her own threshold, she tore as much of the water up from a nearby well as she could and she blasted it over the genocidal 'freedom fighter'. He backed away, shock and confusion on his face. He pulled his hook swords from his back.

"Wait! I've changed!" he shouted. Katara snarled, forming the water that surrounded them in the streets into sharp spikes.

"Tell it to some other girl, Jet!" she shouted, and began to hurl the spikes at him. She'd believed in everything he told her. That was what made his betrayal hurt so much more. He smashed the spikes away as they flew, but didn't try at all to move closer. Aang moved behind her. "Jet's back. We can't trust anything he says."

"I'm being completely honest," Jet said. He reached out and dropped his swords to the ground. "I just want to help, and I think I can," Jet pulled out a leaflet. It was one of the pamphlets that Aang distributed. Aang snatched it from him, his visage confused. "When we met, I was an angry, troubled person. But I've left all of that behind me. I don't even have my gang anymore. Please. Let me prove it to you."

"I think he's telling the truth," Aang said, looking at the boy. No, Jet had aged, as had they all. He was a man now. A dangerous man. Katara shook her head.

"Aang, please, remember what he tried to do," she said. "All of those people he almost killed."

"If he accepts his fault, and takes responsibility for his actions, then we can't just turn him away. Everybody needs a second chance, Katara. Even people like me," he said. He turned to her, and in Yqanuac continued. "_Please, Katara. We don't have any leads, and our friends are missing. If we can find Appa, then there'll be nothing holding us here when we find them._"

Katara seethed. "Fine," she said. She jabbed an angry finger at Jet, though. "But I'm keeping my eye on you. And if this is a trap..."

"I'm telling you, I work near a warehouse, and I heard some things," Jet said. He sighed, bending down and putting his weapons away. "But if it makes you feel better, keep your eye on me all you want. It'll be like old times, but with more simmering resentment."

* * *

The new house was magnificent. Third story on a beautiful building, it was high enough to get the sweet, cooling breeze, but not so high that it would be an ordeal to return home every evening. Iroh was impressed. But he was also concerned. After his argument with Zuko, the young man went out and didn't return. While Zuko was given to solitude and introspection, it wasn't healthy. Zuko was of an age where he should be going out, meeting people. Getting to know the ladies. Sometimes better than one expected to.

Iroh pulled on his new hat, which covered his receded hairline, and turned to the door. It would be a day or so to get the Jasmine Dragon ready for its grand opening, but he felt up to the task. It was better to live three days without food than one day without tea. He paused. That was a good slogan. He'd have to remember it. Iroh slid the door open, and was surprised when he saw Mister Han kneeling before it. His back was straight, his hands before him as though he were expecting manacles. "The War has come to Ba Sing Se," he said.

Iroh's suspicion was instantly raised. "I don't know what you mean," he said. Han looked up at him, then sighed.

"Can we please drop our masks, Iroh?" Han said. "I am Han Hua, Secretariat of the lower ring, a leader within the Dai Li. There are a select few at this point who know who you are. That number will soon swell."

"And why are you telling me this?" Iroh asked, folding his hands into his sleeves. Preparing a nasty trick if Han was anything but honest, to be truthful.

"They have the Dark Prince," Han said. "They are trying to interrogate him, but they don't know the sort of resilience to our practices that firebender training gives a person. They will resort to more extreme methods soon. Damaging methods. I owe certain favors to certain parties who would not countenance harm coming to either you or the Dark Prince."

"I suppose you won't tell me who this party is?" Iroh said.

"If asked, I was instructed to say only: she understands the price," Han rose. "Come. Your ward is in jeopardy and I owe favors."

"Where are we going?" Iroh asked.

"To a city of horrors, under the water."

* * *

The three youths stopped outside the warehouse. Aang took a calming breath. It almost seemed too easy. But then again, as Gyatso frequently said, if it seemed to easy to be real, it probably wasn't. For Jet's sake, it had better be; Aang couldn't protect him from Katara forever. He slid the door open.

"I don't understand!" Jet said, confusion plain in his voice. "This is the place they talked about! He's supposed to be here."

"Are you talkin' about that disgusting animal?" an old man asked from inside the house. He swept slowly, his eyes always locked on the floor. "They moved him outta here last evening. And good riddance, too. I've been sweepin' up fur and... leavings... all morning."

"Where are they taking him?" Aang asked, moving closer. The janitor just kept sweeping, his eyes locked on the floor.

"As I hear it, some rich noble type's takin' him to Whale Tail Island. Probably for some sort of zoo," he said.

"Where's Whale Tail?" Aang asked, but Katara was tweezing the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"Far," she said. "Very far. It's the easternmost island in Great Whales. That's almost all the way back to the South Pole. It'd probably take us weeks to get there, and by then..."

Aang shook his head. Never in his life had he been pincered so cleanly. On one hand, it was Appa, who would grow with him, be his companion for life. His spirit guide. On the other, Sokka and Toph _could_ _not _stay in Ba Sing Se another week, let alone however many it took just to get to Whale Tail. Then, however many it took to find Appa. "I'm sorry, buddy," Aang said, feeling that cold settle into his guts.

"Must be nice, going to an island," the janitor said, still sweeping. "I haven't had a vacation in years."

"Just keep sweeping!" Aang shouted.

"Oh, fine. Just ignore old Sweepy. Everybody else does," he said. Aang leaned down for a moment, and looked up at Sweepy's eyes. They were dead and hollow. He lurched back.

"Katara," he said. He turned, but she was already backing away from the door. A short, tomboyish girl and a slender man with big ears were standing there, eyes wide. Staring at Jet.

"JET!" the girl shouted, running to Jet and throwing her arms around him. She pulled his head down for a desperate kiss, but Jet just flailed away, as though terrified. "My gods, what happened to you, Jet? When they arrested you, I thought you were a goner!"

"What? I wasn't arrested," Jet said. The girl shook her head. Aang suddenly realized who she was. This was Smellerbee. The other would have to be Longshot, then. Two of Jet's cronies. Katara seemed to pick up on it as well.

"You said you didn't have your gang anymore," Katara said. Jet stared at his cronies, no recognition in his eyes.

"I don't," he said. "I mean..."

"How did you get away from the Dai Li?" Smellerbee asked.

"The Dai Li?" Aang asked. He turned to Sweepy. "I knew something was wrong with this."

"We were there when he got arrested by the Dai Li," Smellerbee said. "We watched as they dragged him away. There wasn't anything we could do."

"This is crazy!" Jet said. "I wasn't arrested! I came here for a fresh start in the greatest city in the world."

"Tui La," Katara said slowly. She turned to Aang with wide eyes. "Aang, I think they turned him into a Joo Dee."

Aang turned to Smellerbee and Longshot. "Would he ever intentionally lie to you?"

Smellerbee and Longshot shared a glance. Weighing. "No. Not since the gang shattered in the valley."

"He _thinks_ he's telling the truth," Aang said. He sighed. "Jet's been brainwashed."

* * *

Toph stared, blinded by the metal which surrounded her. She tugged on the chain holding her to the back wall. It rattled, but she couldn't get a feed on it. It frustrating. Her mother was nearby, also chained to the floor. Mother, though, didn't still tug on her chains.

"I'm so sorry, Toph," she said, quietly. "I'm sorry that I brought you into this."

"Oh, please, they probably wanted that little slice of revenge for the ass-whuppin' that I dealt them in Ba Sing Se University," Toph said. She gave her chains another pull. A rattle, but no feel. Or was there?

"You don't understand. If you had been anybody else, they wouldn't have given a second glance," she said, commiserating. "Long Feng has been trying to get his hands on one of us since he came to power."

"Yeah, well, when I get out of here, he ain't going to be in power for much longer," Toph said. Poppy began to chuckle, then laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just remembering when Lao named you," she said. "When he learned you were blind, he called you his little Tuofu. His lily in the palm."

"Yeah. Thanks for saddling me with that," Toph muttered. She gave her chains another yank. Hmm. "Why did you always call me Toph, anyway?"

"A lot of reasons," Mother said. She was silent. Toph rattled her chains again.

"Did you know I was an earthbender? Like, a really good one?" Toph asked.

"I suspected," Mother answered. "It's part of why I called you Toph. Have you ever heard of the Earth Kingdom's Avatar who arose before Kyoshi?"

"Didn't pay much attention in history," Toph said, rattling the chain. "Too many people killing each other over stupid things and claiming possible things were impossible."

"Before Kyoshi came Avatar Touph," Mother said. "The feminine form didn't really seem appropriate. Especially once I noticed the things you did when you thought nobody was watching you."

"Such as?"

"Rolling in dirt," Mother said pointedly. Toph laughed, yanking at her chains again.

"I did love destroying those silly dresses," Toph said. There was a long moment of silence, into which Toph gave her chains another yank.

"Your father doesn't understand what you are," Mother said. "I don't know if I do, either. But I'm trying, Toph. I really am."

Toph scowled, and gave a heave on her chains. "Could we save the mushiness until after we're out of this hellhole?" she asked. She let out a laugh. "At least I get the amusement of knowing they can't brainwash me with their lantern thing."

Toph could almost feel her mother shaking her head. "There are other ways the Dai Li can break you, Toph. They are clever, and clever people never lack for new methods to torture with."

Toph scowled, and gave her chains another pull. Something lit up. She hopped to her feet, and instantly pulled against her bonds again. It came through like a wave. She turned to where her mother was sitting, delicately on the floor. She could see again! All that it took was some stubbornness. To keep trying when other people had given up. "What is it, Toph?"

"I think I'm figurin' something out," Toph said, grinning. "This is why I'm the _greatest_."

* * *

Sokka cracked his neck, feeling the wash of pain that went with it. There was a lot of pain. These people were sadists! He wagered that there wasn't one square cun on his body which didn't have a bruise, a burn, or a whip-mark on it. Needless to say, Sokka was not in the best of moods. He stood, testing his legs. They still worked. His arms were roughened, but he could still move them about. Yup. He'd had just about enough of this place.

The rattling of keys at the door drew Sokka's attention. He stood at the far end of the room, hands crossed behind his back. May as well not make this easy for them. When the door swung open, Joo Dee – which is to say, the original Joo Dee – was standing there, looking unimpressed. "I had really thought you'd be more helpful, Sokka of the South Water Tribe. It's a pity that you had to be so obstinate."

"Yeah, well, I do one of two things to women. I either charm them or annoy them," Sokka said with a dimissive shrug. He put on a smirk. "Any chance I can still be charming?"

"Come with me," Joo Dee said, and she hurled a surveyor's chain at Sokka's neck. He snapped his hand up, letting it close on his wrist instead. Then, he started running. Joo Dee's eyes went wide as he ran right through her, bull rushing her into the wall outside the cell. He quickly looped the chain running from her sleeve to his wrist, over her head and around her neck. He turned her in front of him and began to pull tight.

"Let her go, prisoner," one of the two Dai Li who was with her said. Sokka smirked.

"Make me," he said. He tugged a little tighter, and Joo Dee began to claw at the chain, trying to get it off of her. "Ordinarily, I don't hit girls. But you might notice that she isn't a girl, and I'm not hitting her."

"This is your last chance," the other Dai Li said. They didn't even have the sense to stand on opposite sides of him. Sokka laughed.

"Or what? You'll make me a 'super-prisoner'? You'll kill me? Do you really want your lives to be that short?" Sokka asked. Joo Dee's eyes rolled back into her head. Choked out, good. He turned to the Dai Li, and let Joo Dee fall as he swung the chains around and smashed one of the Dai Li in the face with them. It turned him enough that he threw off the other's attempt to snare him with a stone glove. Sokka quickly reached down, pulling off the stone shoe from Joo Dee and hurled it at one of the Dai Li's faces. It struck, bouncing off and smashing into the other one. Both fell, stunned, to the floor. Sokka stared at them a moment. "Is that all? Three earthbenders against one _Sokka_, and I take you down with a chain and a shoe? You people really need to toughen up your recruitment standards."

The suspicion in Sokka's mind that things had gone better than he'd hoped, let alone feared, nagged at Sokka as he dragged the Dai Li into his old metal cell and stripped away their weapons. If they were playing some sort of game with him, he couldn't figure out the rules. So he locked them inside, and tried to get comfortable in his proffered Dai Li robes. He set the hat to ride low on his brow, concealing his features, then walked around like everybody else; looking extremely annoyed and in a hurry.

Sokka walked along the long, wet corridors. There were voices coming from some of the rooms. Low, calm voices. The only screaming that he'd heard since coming down here was his own. A peek inside one of the rooms showed some guy being bound to a chair, forced to watch a lantern rotating around a track.

"The cabbages are not that important," a Dai Li agent said evenly. The older man, his eyes blank and drool running down his face shuddered.

"My... cabbages..."

Sokka turned away. He wasn't sure where he had to go. He was as good as blind down here. He had no maps, every corridor looked exactly the same. He heard women's voices coming from another room. He stopped to look inside. The room was bathed with faint green light. There were dozens of women inside, all of them wearing the same dress and hairstyle.

"Hello," a male Dai Li agent said calmly. "My name is Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"Hello," the women all said in perfect unison, cheerfully despite their empty faces. "My name is Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

Sokka had to resist a full body shudder. He moved away quickly, knowing he couldn't stomach _that_ much longer. He might be Sokka, but he was one Sokka amongst hundreds of Dai Li. He kept walking, his mind swirling. How was he going to find his way out? What about Toph? That trap had surely been for her. Or was it? Maybe the trap wasn't for Toph, but actually for Aang? He scowled. That didn't make sense. Long Feng wanted Aang out of Ba Sing Se.

He opened another door. This one was to a room unoccupied, but hardly empty. Green light flickered from a fireplace, illuminating the hundreds of scrolls and tomes which covered every wall in sight. Sokka experimentally grabbed one. _Pao, bureaucratic aide, 12 years. Native. New residence in Upper Ring. No signs of hostile affiliation or subversive activity_. He checked another one at random. _Katara, master waterbender, duration unknown. South Water Tribe. Known affiliate of the Avatar. Known subversive. Banishment enacted. Joo Dee protocol in effect_. That made Sokka's blood boil. They were NOT going to turn his sister into one of those hollow women.

He turned, and halted when he spotted a scroll bearing the seal of the Water Tribes. He quickly snatched it, skimming it. It was a military report. His eyes grew wide as he saw that it was a group of Southern Tribe warriors fighting out of Chameleon Bay, led by Hakoda. "Dad!" Sokka said. Then, he stopped, glancing around. Nobody heard him. He pocketed the scroll and moved on to a bin by the door. Confiscated items, waiting for classification. He dug through them, and fished out his boomerang and machete. "That's what they say about boomerangs; they _do_ always come back."

He slipped them on under the robe and moved out into the hallways again, feeling significantly less naked for familiar armament. He walked, trying to figure out where the exit was. An unpleasant thought occurred to him. What if the only exits were via earthbending? It would be a problem he had to deal with when he came to it. As he was walking past another chamber, his gait was caught short, and he turned back. "My name is Joo Dee. Say it!"

"My name is Zhu Di," came the response. Something wasn't right. Sokka entered the room. There was an agent facing Zhu Di, a scowl fixed on his face. She was standing unsteadily in a corner of the room. It was otherwise empty.

"That's not what I want. Say your name."

"My name is Zhu Di," she said, her tone switching schizophrenically between cheerful and afraid. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se. I would be ever so pleeeeeeeaassed..."

"This is infuriating," the agent said. He turned and looked at Sokka. "Prepare the extract. We're going to need to burn her mind away."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Sokka said. The agent's eyes went wide, and Sokka swung out, smashing him across the head with the broad side of his machete. He crumpled into a heap. Katara might bend water, and Toph might bend earth, but Sokka bent the element of surprise. Sokka ran to the brown eyed girl who stared blearily at the world, unable to hold her feet. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"He_llo_, my _na_me is Joo _Di_. We_lcom_e to Ba Sing _Se_," she said, her voice unsteady. He stared at her. Oh, no. They were already breaking her.

"Zhu Di, you know me!" Sokka said. "You have to remember who I am. Who you are. Can you do that?"

"I wi_ll_ be your _hu_mble gui_de_ for the du_ra_tion of _yo_ur s_ta_y in the _grea_test city in the wo_rld_," she answered, her head tipping to the side. Sokka began to panic. What had they done to her?

* * *

Katara tapped her foot, staring at Jet with a hatred he couldn't completely understand. "Long Feng must have sent Jet here to misdirect us," she said.

Aang nodded. "But to what end?" he asked. "Appa's fur was in that warehouse. That means he must have been in the city at some point," he paused, then looked up. "What if they're keeping Appa the same place as Sokka and Toph?"

"We don't even know that the Dai Li have them," Katara said. Aang scowled.

"Your brother once said 'if it swims like a turtle duck and quacks like a turtle duck and lays eggs like a turtle duck, it damned well isn't a skunk bear'," Aang said, "They're gone, vanished a few hours after we picked a fight with the Dai Li. They're the only ones who make sense," Aang turned to Jet. "We need to find a way to get at his real memories."

Longshot got a puzzled look on his face, then pulled out a sprig of wheat and popped it into Jet's mouth. Jet stared up at him. "I don't think this is working," Jet admitted, then spat the sprig onto the floor. Longshot shrugged. Smellerbee stepped up, her face sad.

"Try to think of something which triggers your emotions, Jet. Remember what the Fire Nation did to our families," she said quietly, gently. Jet tried to think back. He could see the flames. Feel the heat. No. There was a face in the flames. NO!

"I can't. It's too painful," Jet said. But the fire didn't stop. He was eight years old, standing in the ruins. Tears ran down his face. Everybody he ever loved was dead. He could smell them in the air. Hear them popping and crackling inside the fire. He could see a face in the flames. Katara pulled out her water, and it began to glow in her hands.

"Maybe this will help," she said, laying that cooling, soothing touch upon his temples. He was eight years old. Tears ran down his face. His parents were dead. His brother and sisters were dead. He saw them burn. He could hear them, like meat over a fire pit. He could smell them, the stink of hair, the sweet fragrance of bull pork. He was afraid, and devastated and alone. And he was angry. He saw a face in the flames. He looked closer. Green eyes, a middle aged face, with trailing mustaches. The flames were gone, but the man remained. Over a lake. Then, there was a rush of motion. The eight year old Jet slammed down through the water, and dropped into a maze of corridors under the water. A city of horrors. No longer eight, he saw that lantern, rotating around the track. The men in green robes.

"They took me to their headquarters," Jet said, his eyes wide and his head pounding. "It's under a lake to the east! Lake Laogai!"

"I know the place," Smellerbee said. "There's nothing there."

"There must be a way to find it. We should go now, before we run out of time." Katara said. The others filed out, but she remained. She turned and stared at Jet. "Don't think this means I've forgiven you. I'm still waiting for the other sandal to drop."

"I would expect nothing less from you," Jet said.

* * *

Zhu Di's head flopped, and she babbled uncontrollably, staring at nothing. Sokka ran his fingers through the hair which was beginning to grow out from what was once shaved scalp. This wasn't working. Nothing was working. He sat, trying to think. There had to be another way to get her back to herself. He perked up. Get her back to herself. He remembered the things Ty Lee told him about her family; most of them would probably apply to Zhu Di as well.

"You're afraid of vanishing into the crowd," Sokka said. "You grew up with six others who you could swap identities with just by answering to a different name. It must have been hard, not really being your own person."

The babbling stopped. He sat down against the wall. "Until recently, I could only imagine that kind of heat, hammering down at you all day like the fires of Hell. Dry air blowing past your house. The sun overhead. Heat, oh the heat. Do you remember that heat? There are times when I think I've forgotten what it was to be truly cold. After two years up here, do you remember what it is to be truly warm?"

Nothing. He wiped his face. This wasn't working. Maybe, if reverie wouldn't drag her out of her fugue, he would need another tactic. He turned to face her. "But what does it matter?" Sokka asked. "It's not like anybody would have remembered you. You were just another one of the Baihu girls. Interchangeable, unremarkable. Nothing you've ever done has really mattered. You're still just another face, another one of the matched set. Do your parents even know you to look at you? I don't think they do. You're going to vanish down here, Zhu Di. You are going to disappear, and nobody is ever going to notice."

There was a loud crack and pain stung Sokka's cheek. Zhu Di was staring at him, anger in her features. She'd slapped him. Really hard, too. Sokka still felt a grin come onto his face. "You're an ass," she said.

"And you're alive," he said. "That means we're back in business. Now put this on."

* * *

Toph kept pulling on the chains which bound her. She could see again, and knew that her mother was sitting with her back to the iron-clad wall. A member of the Dai Li was outside, idly checking in on them from time to time. "Tell me something, Toph," Mother said. "Why did you steal all of those things? You didn't need the money."

"I wanted them," Toph said. Sort of the truth.

"You could have bought them. We would have given them to you if you'd asked for them," Mother said. Toph yanked her chains. She almost had it.

"Maybe I didn't want you giving them to me," Toph said. "Maybe I wanted to have them without somebody feeling sorry for the little blind girl."

"Toph, we don't give things to you because we feel sorry for you. You're our daughter. We'd do anything for you, blind or not," Mother said.

"Yeah, right," she said. She pulled on the chain again. There was something deeper, something inherent to the metal. Not earth, but _earth like_.

"Why did you steal those things, Toph?" Poppy asked again.

"I don't know, alright?" Toph shouted. "I wanted to know that I could! I wanted to know that I wasn't helpless and weak!"

"I know you're not."

"Please. You coddled me just as much as Father did. I heard the way you talked about me to Twinkletoes, why you never told anybody in town that I was alive."

"Twinkletoes?" Poppy asked. Toph just kept on going.

"If you were any sort of parent, you'd have just held me up to the world and said 'yes, my daughter is blind. Deal with it'. But you? You hid me away. A shameful little secret. I am not your secret anymore, mother. I am an earthbender. I am a great earthbender," she said. She took a deep breath. A grin came to her face. "And you remember how _everybody_ says you _can't_ bend metal?"

"What does that have to..." Poppy began. But Toph _felt_ it. Metal was earth. Earth that had been refined and purified, but it was still earth. And now, she knew its feel. She heaved again, and the entire wall buckled out a solid hand's-breadth before the pin holding her chains snapped, and she stumbled forward a few steps. Toph turned to her mother.

"I am the _greatest earthbender alive_," she said. "And don't you _ever_ forget it."

"The prisoner is escaping!" the Dai Li agent shouted. Toph ran to the door, and planted her foot in it, letting the vibrations show the metal right down to its core. She lowered her foot and then slammed it forward, kicking the solid iron door off of its hinges. She then bounded into the hallway, swinging the chains which were still attached to her wrists over her head. Angry with effort, she bent the chains into a solid bar, which she brought down onto the Dai Li agent's head. It smashed him to the side, the brutal blow turned aside somewhat by his stiff hat. She swung the staff at him again, this time across the chest, relaxing her control and letting the metal become chains again. They wrapped around him, pinning his arms tight to his sides. She grabbed the far end, fused it with the near end, and began dragging the stunned man into her cell.

"How did...?" Poppy said.

"Greatest earthbender in the world," Toph said. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"You bent metal," Poppy said.

"Yup," Toph said, tearing her mother's chains out of the wall.

"But that's impossible."

"Apparently not," Toph said. "Now are you going to stand here denying what obviously happened, or are you going to run like your skirt is on fire?"

* * *

"I can bring you no further," Han said. "This is the horizon of the help I can give you."

Iroh nodded. "Then I can only hope that it will be enough. Good luck."

Han shrugged. "I may need it," he said, before walking away and vanishing into the darkness. It was exactly as Iroh's vision had foretold. A city of horrors under the water. A betrayal of thought and will. A betrayal of principle. He moved through the hallways, knowing that he had two tasks, one hopeful, the other onerous.

Iroh had always wanted to come to Ba Sing Se. But seeing this curdled his spirit. This was not the legendary city of walls that he desired. He had a name and a face. He came to a doorway, and looked inside. Within was an old man, probably a few years younger than Iroh, strapped to a chair. A Dai Li agent was talking at him.

"I am not distraught over the cabbages," the Dai Li said. Iroh cleared his throat. The Dai Li turned to him, his eyes growing wide. This agent was old, probably as old as Iroh, his thin beard long and white. The man strapped to the chair mumbled something unclear.

"You are Secretariat Fei of the middle ring?" Iroh asked. "The man who invented this atrocity?"

"Stay where you are, General Iroh, and you will not be harmed," he said.

"You didn't answer my question," Iroh said. The man thrust forward a hand, a stone glove surging toward Iroh. He dropped low and blasted the glove apart with a shockwave of percussion. The other fist came arcing through the air like a hook, but Iroh wasn't an idiot. He ducked low, and let it embed into the doorway. Iroh slammed the door, pinning it in place.

"I am Secretariat Fei," Fei said, fists in front of him. "Why are you here?"

"To strike down the serpent who poisons the fruit," Iroh said. He spun his arms quickly, and blue light filled the room. There was a terrible crashing of thunder, and a bolt of lightning lifted Fei off the ground and hurled him into the corner of the room. Iroh moved to the smoking man, and shook his head. "Such a pity that it would come to this. The mind is not your toy. It never was."

Iroh turned to the man, sitting in the chair. He picked up a small hammer and smashed the binds over his hands and ankles, then stood passing a flame around his body. "You follow your passions, wherever they take you, and you will never stray too far from the path of your own happiness," he said. "Even if others do not understand, you will always know your way through the forest."

Iroh turned, leaving the room. Cabbages. There were far worse things to dedicate one's life to. This entire complex was a testament to that fact. To take a life was no easy thing. It would probably haunt him for the rest of his days, but it would have been far worse if Iroh had done nothing. Fei had invented that method of breaking minds. When Iroh left, it would be sure to die with him.

Iroh moved through the hallways, following the paths of his vision. He moved to a door, different from all the others. Within, there was a great library, a sitting room for the Grand Secretariat. There were files on just about everybody here. Backups for certain people would be found with their respective Secretariats, but the vast glut of information would be here. He ran his fingers along the tomes until he found one which felt right. He opened it to the most recent page. _Lee. Possible alias of Zuko, former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Residence in Ba Sing Se's lower ring. Possible firebender. Possible spy. Taken in for questioning; first cycle failure. Moving to chemical procedures. Cell 217._ So Zuko was here. And they had him. They wouldn't have him for much longer.

As Iroh turned, he paused, and looked out over the horrible information which the Dai Li had accrued. He turned and bent, pulling the green fire out of the fireplace and spreading it along the walls and tables, until the entire room was ablaze. There was some knowledge which came at too high of a cost.

* * *

"This is it. Where's the path?" Katara said.

"It's right here. Somewhere in the water," he shook his head. "I was a bit distracted at the time."

Katara frowned, then bent hard, and the waters began to surge away from the shore, riding up in a massive wave which surged across the lake. Aang pointed. "There! I see it," he said. He stomped his foot and cast his fists up, and the hidden entrance surged to where the water's surface was when Katara let it crash back into place. "Alright. It's just the five of us against hundreds of Dai Li. Everybody alright with that?" Aang asked.

Longshot gave a glance to Smellerbee and Jet, then nodded. The others just looked at Aang like he was asking if they wanted to continue breathing. He didn't even need to ask Katara. Setting his brow and holding his staff to his back, he walked down the passageway that he'd called to the surface. It plunged out of the light, forcing Aang to light a fire in his palm, heading down into that abyss.

"What do you think we're going to find down here?" Katara asked.

"Bad things," Jet said. The sloping path eventually became level, and the darkness gave way to an odd, green light. The fires burning in sconces were its source, a smokeless flame. The passage came to a great door. Aang slid it open, and they entered a broad room. Men and women with green robes all turned, looking at them. Jet's eyes were wide. "Oh. Right. Garrison."

"You traitor!" Katara shouted. A man moved past the Dai Li in the outer garrison, staring at Aang and the others. Long Feng did not look impressed.

"This is disappointing. You weren't supposed to come here, Avatar. You were supposed to leave, go to Whale Tail, and find an 'old friend' waiting for you there," Long Feng said. "A senseless death at the hands of an old, almost forgotten enemy. But if I must deal with you personally, then I will. Men, kill the Avatar."

The Dai Li turned and hurled their stone fists at Aang. Jet leapt in front of him and cut them out of the air with his hook swords. Aang's eyes went wide. "Keep going! Find your friends," Jet shouted.

"We're not leaving you here," Smellerbee said, pulling out her knives. Longshot knocked an arrow, and began to fire. Aang looked at the far side of the room. Long Feng was getting away.

"You're right, we're not," Aang said. "We cut through!"

It wouldn't be easy. The Dai Li were numerous and earthbenders all. He knew he couldn't just out-earthbend them. So he tried something else. He spotted vines growing wild on the sides of the cave. "_Katara, the vines!_" he shouted.

"On it," she answered, and she began to bend the vines. They lashed out from the rock, whipping and snaring, pulling Dai Li away. Aang just summoned up the water from every tankard and cup in the room and began to snap it around, a classic water whip. It wasn't much, but with Jet keeping the attacks of the Dai Li at bay, Aang and the 'freedom fighters' began to press through. The only problem was that while they were knocking the Dai Li down, they weren't keeping them down.

"Where do we go from here?" Katara asked. Jet pointed a hook sword down a passageway before turning and parrying a stone foot that almost smashed in the back of the head.

"The torture chambers are that way. Your friends are probably there," he said.

"What about you?" Katara said.

"I'm going after Long Feng," Jet said. "Nobody messes with my head. Nobody!"

Aang looked between them. Help bring down the man who had poisoned an entire reign, or help Katara get her family back. She took the decision away from him by pointing after Jet. "You go after him. I still think he's up to something," she said. "My brother's in here somewhere, and I'm going to find him."

Aang nodded, and began to run, leaving Katara behind him. The Dai Li were coming out of the very stonework, now, and the 'freedom fighters' faced attacks on all sides. Aang zipped on on his air scooter and created a blastwave of air, knocking everybody except those standing next to him into a wall. Aang gave Jet a nod, but both paused when they heard a calamitous crashing coming from ahead. A great iron door heaved, and a great dent appeared in its center. Another crash, and a second dent. Then, with a third, the door flew off its hinges and wobbled on the floor. Toph stomped out, looking a bit annoyed, her arms wrapped around in chains. A woman who must have been her mother was behind her.

"Hey, Twinkletoes. Guess what trick I just picked up?" she said. Aang ran up and gave her a spinning hug. She shoved him away, laughing. "Get off, you're embarrassing me in front of my mother."

"Right. Hello, missus Beifong," Aang bowed to her. She nodded back. She glanced around.

"Who are all of these? Child soldiers?" she asked.

"We're the only buggers crazy enough to attack the Dai Li and save your asses," Smellerbee said. "So _you're welcome_."

"Save _my_ ass?" Toph shook her head. She stomped her foot, and turned down the hallway. "Let's can it. Long Feng is trying to bug out, thatta way."

Aang smiled. "What would we do without you?"

"Wander for days lookin' for an exit," Toph said.

* * *

Zuko stared into the fire, kneeling upon the throne. The canopy of dragons rose around him, and the trough burned high. He was Fire Lord, and his face was only to be seen in the flickering of the flame. He stared out over the expanse of his throne room, resplendent and opulent. Golds and reds and shining blacks. His destiny was realized. He had everything he ever wanted. And now, he felt fulfilled, and filled with a heady sleepiness.

"That's right, Fire Lord," a voice came in the darkness. It coiled and smoked, a serpent made of flame. In a way, it sounded a lot like Azula. "Just close your eyes. Your nation is safe. Your position is solid. You have everything you ever wanted. You have nothing left to fear. Your honor has been restored. Rest. Sleep."

Zuko let his eyes drift slowly shut. The flames in the trough began to gutter. Then, another voice. "NO!" it shouted, old and gravely. Rather like Iroh. "Do not listen to her. She speaks in lies and deceptions! Remember who you are, Prince Zuko!"

"Do not listen to that old fossil," the first snapped. "He wants you to be alone and afraid, and cold and hungry and dishonored. He wants to deny you your destiny!"

"You have to chose your own destiny, Prince Zuko," the second voice said. "You have to fight. You have to wake up! Open your eyes and see the world you live in, instead of vanishing into a world of illusions!"

"But I'm so tired," Zuko said.

"Then rest, Fire Lord," the first voice said. His eyes drifted shut. A piercing scream filled the air, and his eyes snapped open. The throne room was gone, replaced with a black nothingness. In the distance, he could see a robed figure staring back at him.

"Zuko! Please..." the voice shouted. Mother? Zuko tried to lurch to his feet, but he was trapped.

"Mother!" he shouted. "Where are you!"

"Zuko! Please, wake up!" Iroh's voice came to him again. Zuko's eyes fluttered open, staring up at Iroh's aged face. He looked a bit haggard. Zuko felt far worse. He felt worse than he did the night after that binge, to be honest. He put his hand to his face. Beard, scar, hair, check.

"Uncle? Is that really you?" he asked. Iroh just smiled, tears in his eyes, and hugged Zuko close for a moment before pushing away. "I don't feel well."

"As you shouldn't. You had been dosed with some harmful substances to try to access your mind," Iroh looked over his shoulder. The crumpled, groaning form of a Dai Li agent was laying behind him. "We have to get you out of here, before it's too late."

Iroh helped Zuko to his feet, pausing only to set off a bolt of fire at the agent on the ground. Zuko felt too unsteady to protest. But he understood why. These people were dangerous, and they knew about he and Uncle. After a minute or so, Zuko began to move unsupported, still feeling like somebody was pounding at his head with a mallet, but much more mobile. He heard an odd, but familiar groan, and pulled away from Iroh. He moved to a door and slid it open.

"This can't be," he said. He lurched into the room, which was broad and had a passage leading straight up into the sky after a tunnel. Chained to the floor of this massive chamber was 'Appa', the Avatar's sky bison. It struggled against its chains, looking fearfully at the door. Zuko just stared, moving closer. Finally, he reached out a hand, setting it on the broad nose of the beast.

"Zuko, what do you think you're doing?" Iroh said.

"It's here. Right in front of me," Zuko said. Appa snorted, billowing Zuko's clothes back. He turned to his Uncle. "I need to get it out of here."

Iroh scowled, his features flashing with anger. "And what are you going to do with it? Hide it in our apartment and make tea for it? And if you do take it out of this room, _THEN WHAT?_" he shouted. "You never think these things through!"

"Uncle..."

"It's just like the North Pole," Iroh said. "You had the Avatar, and then you had nowhere to go! If the Avatar's friends hadn't brought you back with them, you would have frozen to death or died, bleeding into your chest!"

"Then what am I supposed to do, Uncle?" Zuko asked. "Am I supposed to just abandon my destiny, and live my life knowing that I could have been so much more than I am?"

"Is it _your_ destiny?" Iroh asked, irate. "Or is it the destiny that somebody else has chosen for you? When you were burned and cast out, did _you_ chose to hunt the Avatar?"

Zuko turned away. "No," he said. "You don't understand."

"Zuko, I have lived three of your lifetimes. I understand," he said. "You are trapped between what others believe you are, and what you _feel_ you are. You have to look inside yourself, my Prince. Who are _you_, Zuko? What do _you_ want?"

"I want to go home!" Zuko shouted, and he smashed his hands down. A blast of flame came out of them, so hot it was almost blue, smashing through the chains which held the bison to the floor. The bison launched away, but then settled, on the far side of the room. Zuko just stared at the floor. Where had that fire come from? His firebending was gone! The Bison moved closer, step by step, until it bumped against Zuko with its nose. Zuko turned just in time to get a massive tongue upside his face. Iroh helped him up.

"It is time we leave this place," Iroh said, quietly. He brightened suddenly. "I wonder if it will give us a lift?"

* * *

Katara skated through the hallways, moving fast enough that even Aang would be hard pressed to do better. She knew that her brother had to be around here somewhere. She skated up one hallway and down another. She passed dozens upon dozens of rooms. Some were filled with chanting Joo Dees. Others were occupied only by strange contraptions. One of them was on fire, which amused Katara somewhat. She turned, and headed back toward Aang. Sokka wasn't here.

Dai Li were pouring through the passageway, storming ahead of her. She stopped, letting them move passed. They were heading for the surface? But why? She started to walk again, keeping her eye on the Dai Li, but she gave a start and a yelp as she bumped into somebody. She saw just the slightest rustle of green robes. She snapped her water and froze it around the person, then took a few steps back. The hat fell off; Sokka did not look impressed.

"Katara, we've talked about this," Sokka said, annoyed and frozen to a wall. She bent the water away from him, and he flicked off the unpleasant smelling water. The girl he'd picked up recently was with him.

"I see you've found your girlfriend," Katara said.

"Please, I could do much better than him," Zhu Di said, rolling her eyes. Toph was right. She really wasn't much like her sister.

"Where is everybody? Did you find Toph?" he asked. "I thought she'd be down in the holding cells, but there's no sign of her. Just a lot of busted up metal."

"I've got no idea where she is. But we don't have time for that. The Dai Li are moving to the surface for some reason. We've got to get Aang and get out," Katara said. Sokka plucked the hat off of Zhu Di and tossed it down the hallway.

"There's a sentiment I can agree with."

* * *

Aang came to a halt in that massive chamber, its peak open to the sky. Great chains lay on the floor, sundered and forgotten. Aang knew of only one thing which could have been contained by chains like those. "Appa," he said, that dread suffusing him. "They took him away... again!"

Long Feng just stared at them in the center of that chamber. Behind them, Toph and the others were holding back the Dai Li. Jet pointed a hook sword at Long Feng. "Did you think you could get away with that? Did you think you could just turn me into a puppet?"

"Why, yes, I did," Long Feng said. He turned to Aang. "This is your last chance, Avatar. Agree to leave this city and never return, and I will give you back lost your pet. If not, then I promise you, you will never see it again."

"You're not in a good bargaining position, Long Feng," Jet said, taking a threatening step forward. Long Feng smirked.

"Am I not?"

"You're definitely not," Aang confirmed, leveling his staff at the Grand Secretariat. Long Feng took a few steps forward, then turned to Jet..

"Jet," he said. "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Jet went rigid as a board, his hook swords down at his sides. Aang could see his eyes were wide open. "I would be honored to accept his invitation," Jet said flatly.

"Kill the Avatar, Jet," Long Feng said. Jet turned and with a wild slash, made for Aang's neck. Aang dove out of the way, pointing his staff now at Jet, who held himself limply and moved jerkily. Like he wasn't in control anymore.

"What did you do to him?"

"I made him a valuable resource to be exploited," Long Feng said.

Aang ducked and weaved, always staying just a hair away from being split open by the sharp blades. His mind flit through possibilities. There was water flowing through the chamber, but it would take too long to bend it, and Jet was relentless. Stone could kill him. Air required a bit more breathing room. And fire, well, that was right out. So he followed the training instilled in him since birth. Avoid, evade, and let him see his own fault.

"Please, you don't want to do this, Jet!" Aang shouted. Jet slashed again, and Aang had to block it with his staff. Jet ripped it away, and it clattered to the ground near the shackles. "Jet, I'm your friend! Look inside your heart!"

"He has no heart. We've removed it," Long Feng said. "Do your duty, Jet!"

Aang dove to one side do avoid a brutal slash which would have torn him from collarbone to diaphragm. He stopped, holding up his hands. "Please, Jet! He can't make you do this! You're a Freedom Fighter!" Jet kept advancing. Then, when the light hit his eyes, Aang noticed something. They weren't empty and dilated. Jet gave Aang a wink. It was a game! A bluff! Aang twisted his arms and crafted a blast of air, which hurled Jet toward Long Feng. Jet slowly, unsteadily got to his feet.

"What are you waiting for? Do it now!" Long Feng demanded. Jet twisted and slashed, tearing a bloody weal up Long Feng's face, and then down, hooking the Grand Secretariat and dragging him to the ground. Jet leaned close.

"You made a mistake," Jet said. "People have been force-feeding _orders_ to me as long as I've been alive. I've become very good at ignoring them."

"And you've made a mistake, in that you haven't killed me already," Long Feng said. He thrust out with one hand, and a pillar of stone slammed up out of the ground, catching Jet squarely in the chest with a sickening crunch. Long Feng stood, holding his wounded arm, and scowled at Jet's broken form. "You foolish child. You've chosen your own demise."

Long Feng bent the earth up and vanished into one of the passages which allowed water to spill into the room. Aang, though, ran to Jet's side. "Aang," Jet said. "Sorry I couldn't do better."

"Don't be sorry," Aang said. "You did better than any of us."

The fighting outside began to press inwardly. Aang glanced back. Toph and her mother were backing into the room along with the freedom fighters, which he expected, but he didn't expect two Dai Li agents to be backing in with them. When they turned, Aang saw that they were Sokka and that girl, Zhu Di. The last to enter before Toph slammed the door and buried it was Katara, skating in on a ramp of frozen water. She turned, saw Jet, and ran over, turning her water into a pair of healing hands. She pressed them to Jet's chest, but Aang knew just by looking at it that there was nothing she could have done. She shook her head.

Smellerbee was crying, but her voice stood firm. "You guys go find Appa," she said. "We'll take care of Jet."

Katara shook her head. "We're not going to leave you," she said. Longshot looked up, grabbing one of the hats lost by a Dai Li, and stomping it, flattening it out a bit.

"There's no time," Longshot said, his voice oddly smooth. He looked up at them, and placed the now broad conical hat onto his head. "Just go. We're not leaving Jet. He's our leader."

As far as Aang knew, this was the first time he'd ever heard Longshot speak. And it would probably be the last. Longshot gave them a glance, laden with meaning that Aang didn't have the codex for, and nodded toward the opening in the ceiling. Smellerbee leaned down, cradling her fallen commander, and whatever else he was to her.

"Don't worry, guys," Jet said, his voice weak and wet. "I'll be fine."

Toph gathered everybody under the light, and stamped her foot down. But as the group rose out of the complex, she was staring downward, toward where Longshot readied an arrow. "He's lying," Toph said. Aang was fairly sure he knew what she meant. She took a hard turn, bending away from the light above, and began to raise them obliquely.

The group erupted onto the earth near the shore, well away from that island. It was good to see daylight, but Aang still had a heavy heart. He'd gotten his friends back, but still... Katara grabbed his hand, and pointed.

Dai Li were ahead of him. He glanced the other way down the shore. Dai Li were behind him, too, clinging to the walls with their stone shoes and hands. They were surrounded. They were outnumbered twenty to one. Aang just sank to the stone, leaning against his staff. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the bison whistle, staring at it. It was as close to a bison as he'd seen in months. He gave it one, possibly final, blow, then set it back, before rising up, readying his staff. Long Feng was already approaching, his face and left arm already wrapped in impromptu bandages. He stopped, raising his other hand in a high gesture. When it dropped, there would be the fight of everybody's lives.

Long Feng didn't get a chance to. His eyes opened wide, and he pointed to something behind Aang. He turned, and his heart swelled. Letting out a bellow, Appa swooped low, buffeting all of the Dai Li off of their perches with his wake, before landing with a massive thud between Long Feng and the Avatar. Everybody scrambled up onto Appa's naked back, and clung to its fur, Toph being the last. She surged out and blasted a wave of rock which swelled along the shore and up its sheer walls, then grabbed ahold of Appa's haunch.

"Oh, gross!" she shouted. "It smells like somebody puked back here!"

Aang didn't care. He got up onto Appa's brow and shouted. "Appa! Yip yip!"

Appa rose from the ground with a beat of his great tail, sending another shockwave to knock Dai Li from their feet. And he took off, flying as fast as he could, over the waters of Lake Laogai. Aang leaned down, running his hands along the fur of Appa's brow. "I missed you, buddy," he said gently. "More than you'll ever know."

* * *

Iroh and Zuko watched as the great white beast flew away over Lake Laogai. Iroh turned to his nephew. "You did the right thing, Zuko," he said. "We had to let it go."

Zuko didn't look convinced. "But what did I give up?" he asked. He tried to take a step, and then fell. Iroh's eyes grew wide as his head pitched forward into the dirt.

"ZUKO!" he shouted. But nobody was around to hear him.

* * *

_Leave a review. It would be appreciated._


	18. The King of Fools

**The actual writing of the story is done, but I'm taking my time to make sure it's all edited up properly before I post it. Can't be too careful. I was apprehensive when I started to write this one, but I found that it gave me a few opportunities to back fill. First of all, it explained why the Beifongs were living in Shr-Wa instead of Gaoling, and it also gave us a look inside what happened to make Azula so very, _very _screwed up, which itself serves as a callback to some of the things she said in the first and third chapters. I have to say, I'm already starting to feel a little sorry for her.**

**In unrelated news, I'm already starting on Book 3, but that'll be a much slower project, because with university starting up, my time will be divided. Still. Each thing in its proper time.**

* * *

Sunset on the island, gentle reds slowly seeping across the sky. Everybody was tired. Everybody was battered. Nobody was beaten. Except for Sokka, and then only in the most literal sense. Katara was seeing to her brother's injuries, which were quickly fading. Toph was... well, there's no other way to put it, she was doing the impossible and metalbending. She practiced, using the chains which had bound her in the prison under Lake Laogai, forming them into all manner of useful objects, before bending them back into chains. Toph's mother seemed like she wanted to talk to Toph, but Toph was studiously rebuffing her. Zhu Di, the sister of a woman now allied with their enemy, just looked shell shocked.

And Aang? He clung to the fur above his sky bison's head, making a thousand promises never to lose him again. Everybody was tired. Everybody had been through hell, in one way or another. Aang's hell was a long one, only suddenly vanished into a puff of smoke. Or rather, white fur. Finally, Sokka seemed to break the peace, sitting up from his sister's ministrations and getting everybody's attention.

"Guys, we're in a strange position," he said. "We're all here. We know what we need to do, and we've just come off a big win."

"Which only happened because we suffered a big loss," Toph said, turning her chains into a sword taller than she was, overbalancing and pitching over with a yelp. She stood back up, dusting herself off. "All things considered, I'd say we've barely broke even."

"We poked Long Feng in the eye, we've got Appa back, and nobody's a prisoner of the Dai Li," Sokka said. "I'm choosing to look at this as a net win."

Katara shook her head. "Long Feng is in charge of Ba Sing Se. He's got the Earth King on a leash, and his conspiracy runs so deep that I don't doubt that complex is buried by now. We should just leave and never come back."

"Sweetness is right," Toph said, turning the ridiculous sword back into a length of chain. "I've seen just about enough of this city, and I can't even see!"

"But now that we have Appa back, there's nothing stopping us from talking to the Earth King!" Aang said, happily.

"Conspiracy, earthbending secret police, crazy-powerful guy who can use the laws against us..." Toph began to rattle on. "Worst. City. Ever."

"I think Aang's right. We should keep a positive attitude about this," Sokka cracked his joints, testing. "Telling the Earth King about the eclipse _is_ one of the two reasons we came here."

Toph scowled. "I don't trust new positive Sokka," she said. She pointed an accusatory finger at him to her side. "Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he?"

"We should go," Aang said. "Let's see if we can keep this streak we're on going."

"No thanks," Zhu Di said. "It's been a blast, being in fear and getting my mind messed with, and all, but I think this is where I want to get off."

"Where will you go?" Katara asked.

"I don't care, so long as it isn't back there," she said, pointing toward where Ba Sing Se hunkered, on the other side of the horizon. Toph's mother also rose.

"Well, if you're going to speak to the Earth King, you'll need me," she said. "I know more about the Royal Palace than any of you, I wager."

"How do you figure?" Sokka asked. She stared at him, her green eyes piercing.

"I've been inside it."

"We've been inside the palace!" Sokka protested.

"And then got immediately captured and expelled," Toph pointed out. She scowled up at her mother. "Still, I don't like it. I ran away from home so I _wouldn't_ be traipsing around with my _mother_. It kinda kills the joy of me being here."

"They're going to be ready for us," Katara said. "We're 'enemies of the state', now."

Aang nodded. "Which is why we need to act fast," he suddenly smiled. "Hey, if we do this right, we'll get done of this before we're even officially banished!"

"That's the spirit!" Sokka said. "Onward! To the Earth Palace!"

* * *

Sokka didn't like the looks of the palace. Of course, he didn't like having to ride on Appa without a saddle, either. His sister _of course_ remembered to remind him never to ride bareback on a 10 tonne magical bison. She must have been counting the days for that to boomerang on him. He looked at the vast edifice below him.

"Which building is the Royal Palace?" Sokka asked.

"All of it," Toph's mother said. "If possible, we should try to get in without a fight."

"And what's the likelihood of that happening?" Katara asked. "Long Feng's almost definitely warned the Earth King."

"Would you two shut up? I'm busy being terrified over here!" Toph shouted, clinging tightly to Appa's fur. Sokka looked down at the plaza. His eyes went wide.

"Aang," he said, pointing down. "Where are all the people who are supposed to want to kill us?"

Aang looked down, also purplexed. The courtyards were empty, as were the ramparts which could have easily held hundreds of defenders. Aang brought Appa down. Sokka was getting more suspicious by the second, new positive attitude or no. Appa landed lightly, and people began to slide off of its back. Sokka pulled out his machete and boomerang. He missed having his club; since he'd lost it in the Drill, he always felt a bit incomplete. Toph was the last to get off of Appa, and when she did, she let out a sigh.

"What is it, Toph?" her mother asked. Toph was rubbing her forehead, as though trying to soothe a headache.

"They're hiding under the surface," she said, annoyed. Then, she started to bend, rocks flying up out of the courtyard in a rippling wave. People, hiding under the flagstones, were catapulted into the air, most landing in ways which made Sokka glad that Toph was on his side. Those not taken down by Toph's opening bend began to pop up out of their hiding holes. They weren't Dai Li. These ones weren't, anyway. These were Royal Guards.

"We push through," Aang said. He and Toph began working together, reshaping the battlefield in a few motions and heartbeats, blocking the soldiers from surrounding them. The earthbenders amongst them would probably be able to get through the walls that Toph and Aang created, but the others would be out of luck. Still more began to charge, mounted on ostrich horses, between the walls that had been bent. Sokka stepped forward, but Katara was already bending out whips of water which upended the birds and sent their riders crashing to the ground.

The walls began to crack, and chunks began to fly inward. Toph began to smash them down briefly, before becoming annoyed, and flaring her hands out to either side. The walls tipped and fell outward, and began to roll outward. Sokka could hear the panicked screams of those trying to avoid being flattened. The gang moved forward. A ceremonial brook cut the path ahead of them. Katara ran forward, making her water into a bridge, then pulling up a significant portion of the brook and sweeping it behind the earthbenders who were trying to pelt her. She pulled the water back, and the soldiers were dragged into the creek. Aang froze them into it as he passed. Sokka just tried to keep up.

More soldiers were flooding from the stairway ahead. Aang and Toph both bent, and the entire path ahead of them upended, then toppled toward them, like so many dominoes, trapping the earthbenders and soldiers under them. "Sorry," Katara said as she ran by. "We just need to talk to the Earth King."

"Yeah, that'll excuse everything we're doing today," Sokka muttered. They reached the foot of the stairs. At the top of them, a pair of earthbenders in fancy clothing were gesticulating madly. A pair of singularly massive statues began to lift off of their perches. Sokka hurled his boomerang at them. It smashed into one, then caromed into the other, causing both to falter, dropping the massive edifices, having them shatter on the ground into much more manageable chunks. Toph took a look, such as it was, at the stairs, down which hundreds of soldiers and earthbenders approached. She smiled, then made a hard, slashing motion. The stairs crumbled away, leaving nothing but a smooth, angled plane.

"So, what now?" Sokka asked. Aang smiled, and began to bend again. A platform of earth, big enough for the group plus Appa, who had been unflinchingly following behind, began to shoot up that former-stairway. He winced as a few sliding soldiers bounced off of the rising platform and then back down the hill. "Sorry. Seriously, we're on your side!" he shouted.

At the top of the staircase, which was a truly unnecessary amount of stairs had he been walking, the opening plaza of the Royal Palace loomed, its many pillars stretching away into the distance. More soldiers emerged from this forest. Katara moved ahead of the rest, smashing them down with her water whips, agilely striking between pillars. Sokka was on high alert. Where were the Dai Li? They were the only ones who hadn't made a showing, yet. They flowed into the palace proper, and Toph's mother began glancing around.

"So where do we go?" Sokka shouted. A group of Royal Earthguards stormed in from all directions, but Toph pinned them all to the ceiling atop pillars of stone. Toph's mother looked around in confusion.

"They must have remodeled the palace," she said, tersely. "The last time I was in Ba Sing Se, I was a teenager."

"Great. I'm so glad bringing my mother along was _completely_ useless," Toph shouted, slamming a wall shut before soldiers could come pouring through.

"This section was remodeled," her mother countered. "Others may not have been."

"Well, I say I just follow my instincts," Sokka said. He moved up a hallway and opened the first door he saw. Inside was a half-naked noble woman, in the process of getting a fancy dress on. She turned, her eyes went wide, and she let out a scream.

"No! Burglars!" she then tried to run away, but tripped over her own expensive frippery. Sokka winced. His instincts _were_ good... for certain things.

"Sorry, wrong door," he said. Toph's mother was shaking her head.

"He's a king, you savage," she said. "He will be at the end of the widest hall, after the largest doors. That's how these things go in the civilized world."

"Mom, stop being such a bitch to Sokka," Toph shouted, sending a wave of stone down the hallway, just eking past Sokka. "He's better family than _you've_ ever been."

Toph's mother did not look impressed by that. But still, Sokka had a target. He moved, flanked by three people who had to be some of the most powerful benders on the planet, and he kept his eye on the hallways, always following the widest. And he, unlike the others, he wagered, never stopped looking up. Which was why when the first Dai Li appeared, he wasn't caught by surprise. It tried to snare him with metal chains, but he was able to side step them, and then pull the agent down. Toph spotted the hostile earthbender as soon as it hit the floor, and she bent a snug prison for it.

"Don't be cocky," Toph said. "I saw him coming a mile away."

Sokka scrambled up over a small pile of discarded detritus, and beheld some of the largest doors he'd ever seen in his life. One could fit whole buildings through them, were they open. "Now those _have_ to lead somewhere," he said. He ran up and shoulder checked the door, resulting only in a hurt shoulder and him falling onto his back. He got back up and put his back into heaving at the door, but they wouldn't budge. "Guys, I think the door is–"

Aang didn't waste any time blowing the door down with a hammer of air. With all resistance suddenly gone, Sokka tumbled into the room in a pile, coming to a stop near the head of the now-disconnected doors. He turned back. "A little warning, next time?" he asked. Then, he looked forward. Strangely, he wasn't too impressed by the throneroom, after all the splendor he'd witnessed outside it. It was just a broad room with somewhat ornate pillars, a dais on the end with a stone throne. Bosco was lounging near the foot of the dais, and a slight, narrow man sat on the throne itself. Sokka picked himself up, as Aang moved to the center of the chamber.

"Earth King Kuei, we need to talk to you," Aang said.

"They're here to overthrow you," Long Feng's voice came from the shadows. He walked out from behind the throne, standing at Kuei's right hand. He stared at the Avatar, smug and confident.

Sokka shook his head. "No we're not. We're trying to end a war, and the only way we can do that is with your help."

"You break into my palace, assault my guards, ruin my staircase, break down my fancy door, and upset Bosco's nap, and I'm supposed to believe that you're working to my best interests?" Kuei said. Despite the decade that separated Kuei from Sokka, Sokka didn't think that he was much _less_ mature than this Earth King. Toph let out a chuckle.

"He's got a point, Sparky," she said.

"Please," Aang said, holding his staff behind his back. "We have information which could end the Weary War and bring a lasting peace to the world. I'm sorry if we broke your laws, but we didn't have a choice. Long Feng tried to extort us!"

"Listen to them ramble on with their lies," Long Feng said. He cast out an accusing finger. "How dare you attack your Earth King!"

Aang had a very strange look on his face. "How dare _YOU_ disobey your Avatar!" he shouted back. Kuei sat forward, his expression not frightened, but a bit excited. Bosco got up and started walking toward Aang.

"You're the Avatar?" Kuei asked, brightly. "_The_ Avatar?"

Aang rubbed at the arrow on his forehead. "This isn't makeup," he said. Bosco sniffed at him, then leaned forward, staring at Aang. Aang didn't pay the bear any attention.

"Avatar or not, he is an enemy of the state," Long Feng said. "Dai Li, take them into custody."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Toph threatened, the metal chains still wrapped around her arms bending into a pair of gauntlets. Sokka glanced around. So this was where all the Dai Li had hidden themselves.

"Pardon me, my Earth King," Toph's mother said, bowing low. "But things are not as they appear within the walls of Ba Sing Se. For almost a century, the Fire Nation has laid waste to your divine realm. Thirty years ago, they invaded my home city of Gaoling and burned it to the ground. It has only begun to recover. The fact that nobody has heard of this massive conflagration can only be laid at the feet of the Cultural Authority, and thus, at the feet of Long Feng's megalomaniacal desires. It is a plot, to control the city, and to control you."

"A secret plot?" Kuei said, leaning back. "That's crazy!"

Long Feng smirked. "Completely," he said.

"Long Feng also captured my sky bison and imprisoned my friends to try to keep us away from you," Aang said, taking a step forward. The Dai Li got a little bit closer. "He turned friends into weapons to be used against us, and then had them killed when they failed."

"All lies," Long Feng said. "I've never even seen a sky bison. I thought they'd all gone extinct," Long Feng leaned close to the Earth King, and whispered something to him. Kuei sighed.

"I have to trust in my advisor," Kuei said. Sokka scowled. The bear started licking at Aang's ear, and Kuei tilted his head. "But Bosco seems to trust you, and I can't doubt his keen, animal instincts... Do you have any proof of this conspiracy?" There had to be a way out of this. Something that could prove that there was a war against the Fire Nation. Something big. Something that even Long Feng wouldn't be able to hide. Something... jutting out of the Outer Wall. Sokka got a grin.

"YES! I can prove he's lying to you," Sokka said. "I can prove that there is a war going on outside the walls of Ba Sing Se. You claim that there is no war with the Fire Nation?"

"Of course there isn't," Long Feng said, but Sokka could see a wariness in his eyes.

"Then tell me, what would you say about a failed invasion attempt that ended a month ago?" Sokka asked. Bosco nudged at Aang until Aang started to pet him.

"A peasant uprising," he said smoothly. "Discontents and subversives trying to undermine the authority of the Earth King."

Aang shook his head. "That isn't true," he said. "Come with us to the outer wall, and we'll show you what really happened."

"No Earth King has ever gone to the outer wall," Kuei stated. Sokka's jaw dropped. Seriously? "And I don't have time for this nonsense."

Sokka scratched an invisible beard for a moment, then a thought occurred to him. Kuei was basically an overgrown kid. And Sokka never met a kid who wasn't enchanted by... "If you come with us, we'll let you ride on Aang's sky bison," Sokka offered. Kuei's eyes went wide with glee. Long Feng clapped his hand to his forehead. And Sokka? Sokka began to grin.

* * *

Iroh leaned against the wall, staring down at Zuko. Ever since Zuko and Iroh escaped that complex under Lake Laogai, he had been drifting in and out of consciousness. Iroh wetted a rag and held it to the Prince's head. "Rest, my prince," he said. "This is not a disease you suffer, but a horrible poison. You must be strong and fight it."

Zuko shifted, his eyes fluttering. His hand leapt up and grabbed Iroh's "Father!" he shouted, his eyes unfocused. "Please, don't..."

"Be calm," he said. "I am here for you."

"I tried..." Zuko said. In his delirious state, there was no telling what Zuko saw, whom he was talking to. "I tried to regain my honor."

"Your honor was never Ozai's to give you," Iroh said gently.

"I want to go home," Zuko said quietly, his eyes drifting shut again. Iroh let out a heavy sigh, staring around the room. Would this ever truly be enough for Zuko? In his heart, Iroh knew it wouldn't be. He knew that Zuko would be Fire Lord one day; more and more, Iroh was beginning to fear the implications of that truth. Everything that Iroh had seen came true, or was wrong in a way that made him wish it had been true, no matter how bad true was. Zuko was coming to a crossroads of destiny, a choice upon which would hang the fate of the world. Iroh just didn't know what that choice would be.

"You are home," Iroh said, a comforting lie. "You are home."

* * *

Kuei started screaming when he got onto Appa's back and barely stopped for the first half of the trip. It wasn't until the Earth King was truly out of breath did he calm down and start to enjoy himself. As the walls of Ba Sing Se came into view, Toph turned to him from where she clutched the bison's back. "First time flying, I guess?" she asked, deadpan.

"Somehow it's both absolutely terrifying, and utterly exhilarating at the same time!" Kuei said. Toph grunted.

"Yeah. I hate it, too," she said.

"So you've never been to the Outer Wall?" Katara asked.

"I've never been out of the palace!" Kuei answered enthusiastically. Katara smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. Sokka couldn't have done it better. Finally the bison set down on the wall of Ba Sing Se. It was a testament to the scale of the wall that another Appa could have rested beside it, laying nose to tail, in the width of that wall. Sokka leapt off the bison and ran to the edge of the wall. He looked down, and he felt horror in his gut.

"No. No way. How could they have possibly," he shouted, then he reeled himself in. "It's okay. I still have my positive attitude..."

Toph moved to the wall, and frowned at the ground at the base of the wall. "That's fake," she said. "That hill wasn't there when I came here last time."

"Your conspiracy theory is starting to look a bit shaky," Kuei said, looking down. Toph hopped up onto the battlements and did a broad, bending gesture. The hill at the base of the wall shuddered and split, and finally slid away in great chunks, revealing segment by segment the monumental form of the Fire Nation's great Drill. Kuei's eyes went wide. "What is that?"

Sokka stared at the king like he'd just fallen out of a canoe on dry land. "It's a drill. A giant, Fire Nation drill that they used to try to punch through the outer walls of Ba Sing Se," he said.

Kuei shook his head. "I hate to admit it, but I was so dearly hoping that you were wrong," he said. "But looking at this..."

"I can explain that, Your Majesty." Long Feng said smoothly. Eyes went to him as he popped into view on the wall. How had he gotten here so quickly? Nothing could outpace Appa! "This is nothing more than a construction project."

"A construction project?" Katara asked, incredulous. "This wall is made of pure stone. A healthy part of your population can manipulate stone at will! Why would you need a giant drill?"

"And why would that drill have a gargantuan Fire Nation insignia on it?" Aang pointed out. The insignia was still clearly visible, just shy of where the wall had been dropped onto it. Long Feng was starting to sweat.

"It's imported, of course," Long Feng said. "You can't trust locally designed machinery," he looked at the people arrayed before him. The angry teenagers. The unimpressed mother. The suspicious king. "Surely you are not going to believe the testimonies of these _outsiders_ above that of your most trusted attendant?"

Sokka just gave Kuei a look, a look which said 'are you really going to believe that nonsense?'. Kuei sighed, then turned to the Dai Li which had scaled the walls. "I believe. I wish I didn't, but I believe. Dai Li," he said, turning from the wall. "Arrest Long Feng on charges of treason against the Earth Kingdoms."

"WHAT?" Long Feng shouted. "You can't arrest me! You need me more than you will ever know!" The Dai Li, though, looked between their Grand Secretariat, the 'outsiders', and their king. They made their decision, and hurled their chains... at Long Feng. He was pulled back into their grasp with a wrathful cry. "You have doomed this city, Kuei! It will crumble to dust without me!"

Sokka couldn't help the exultant whoop which came from his mouth. "Oh yeah! Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" he let out a laugh. "Oh, I've been waitin' for a good chance to use that one."

The Dai Li dragged Long Feng away, and Kuei stared into the desert, mulling. Finally, he turned back to the group. "All this time, I thought I was ruling the greatest city in the world. But it turned out, I was ruling a city of fools. That makes me the king fool. There is so much to do. But now, at least, I think I can do the right thing."

"It's never too late to do the right thing," Aang said with a smile. "And now, there isn't anybody who can stop us."

* * *

The plan was perfect. It had already gotten them past the outer wall. Azula stared into that mirror, making sure her makeup was on perfectly. Almost perfect was not good enough. Only the utmost in precision would do. Ty Lee, of course, was playing in a stream. She never did have an attention span which would last for more than a few minutes.

"Could you dig her out of there before people begin to suspect?" Azula asked, her tones low. Mai let out a low sigh, and moved to the acrobat.

"What are you doing?" Mai asked. Ty Lee looked up, her big brown eyes bright as she mucked about in the water. "You're going to ruin all my work."

"I keep finding these clods in the water," she said. She suddenly frowned. "No, not clods. There's an 'uh' sound in it. Bunches? Bunches of white hair?"

"Clumps?" Mai suggested. Ty Lee brightened instantly

"THEY'RE CLUMPS!" she shrieked happily, launching to hug Mai, getting the clothes of both wet. Mai just rolled her eyes, and patted Ty Lee lightly on the back. The acrobat immediately went back to mucking about with the 'clumps' of white hair in the stream. Azula turned away from the odd display.

As she worked on her face, she recalled a time, so long ago, that it almost seemed impossible. She had always been a prodigy, something the world had seldom seen the like of. Even at the age of eight, she was already so much more than her brother would ever be that it strained the minds of the royal tutors.

Jeong Jeong watched her as she bent her flames, following the flow and rhythm that he had mandated. His face was expressionless, as was Father's. They had reason to be. She was showcasing her abilities for Azulon. She had to be perfect. Her flames came out, flowing to her will as she smoothly transitioned between forms. The first, a blast to one side. Jeong Jeong called it a calibrator. A flame to judge others by. Then, she began to flow.

Like a wildfire, she moved, flames blasting out according to Jeong Jeong's signature style. The flames became faster, and she began to bend down the fire from the trough. She surrounded herself in a ring of fire, bending it like breathing, a pulsing heart against the darkness. She leapt up into the air and cast it back into the trough, and she waited, head down. Please, she thought. Let me be good enough.

"She's a true prodigy," Father said slowly. "Just like her grandfather for whom she's named."

Azula felt a smile pull at her features. Father was happy with her! She pushed that smile down, though, as she walked back to Zuzu's side. When she lowered herself to her knees before the Fire Lord, she glanced at her older brother, a smirk on her face. "You'll never catch up," she whispered.

Zuko's eye twitched, and he lurched to his feet. Father's eyes widened just a bit, but Azula knew what was about to happen. "I'd like to demonstrate what _I've_ been learning," Zuko declared. Father's expression turned from its tiny near-smile to a tiny near-scowl. He began to bend, slowly. He tried to throw out his calibrator, but it guttered, more smoke than fire. He then spun, a few gouts of flame traveling in untidy arcs. He leapt up, trying to emulate her Phoenix Flight, but faltered on the landing. Azula smiled. Good. Ursa moved, but Father put out his hand before her. Ursa looked at him poisonously, and Azula's smile went away. Stay back, Ursa! This isn't your place!

Zuko breathed heavily, then got up, attempting the move which Azula had performed so flawlessly again, but as before, he bungled it. Father held out his hand again, but Ursa rushed past it, moving to Zuko's side. Azula felt a sting of rage run through her. She always ran to Zuko. But when Azula fell down, where was she? Father was right. Ursa had no love for Azula. It all went to Zuko.

"I failed," Zuko said. Azula gave a glance to Father, but his look was one of disgust. Azula understood it completely.

"No, you didn't," Ursa said. "I loved watching you perform. That's the kind of person you are, somebody who keeps fighting even when it's hard."

Azula felt the scowl burn across her face. How dare she? Azulon leaned back in his throne. "Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp?" he demanded, his voice already by then thin and reedy. "Everybody leave. I grow weary of this spectacle."

Father looked like he wanted to say something, but gave a glance to Azula instead. She rose, bowing to her grandfather, and was the first to walk toward the door. Father followed swiftly, and took her aside. "You were very good," Father said. "Almost perfect."

"Thank you," Azula said. Ozai's eyes flashed.

"Almost perfect is not good enough!" he snapped. He stopped, leaning low. "You are the daughter that I have always needed, Azula. You are the soul of fire that this _nation_ needs. And if you want to be a part of this nation's greatness, you can accept nothing less than utter perfection in yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father," she said. "Please, let me prove myself to you."

"No," Ozai said, moving down the hallway. "You had your chance. You did well enough to impress Azulon. That was worth something."

"But I can do so much better!" she said, desperate. Father looked down at her, and knelt on the shining obsidian floors.

"You are a prodigy," Ozai said. "In time, you may become the greatest firebender ever to live. But even if that is the case, what will you be if you are not something more? Power, Azula, is not in what we can earn or develop. It is present in our very blood. It is something that we can either live up to, or fail. Iroh may be the Crown Prince, but I am the greater firebender. What would this nation be under him? Weak! Pathetic! Defenseless!"

"You should become the Fire Lord," Azula said, sincerely. Father smiled down at her.

"You are right, my little girl. I should. If only it were possible," he said, distantly as he ran his fingers down the long stream of beard descending from the center of his chin.

"There must be a way!" Azula said. "You could challenge Iroh to an Agni Kai!"

Ozai laughed at that. "Yes, I could, couldn't I?" but then his eyes became hard. "If I wanted to be forever known as the bastard, second-son-by-a-second-wife who usurped the rightful heir to the throne! Don't you ever think things through?" Ozai demanded. Azula shrunk back from him. "No. An Agni Kai is a divine test, one that people assign certain meanings to. It will not avail me."

"I'm sorry, Father," she said.

"Don't be sorry," Ozai said. "Be competent! Your beauty and your strength will fail you in your years, but cunning will never leave you. Unless you start out a doddering old fool like my brother," he muttered. "Tell me, my daughter. What would _you_ do?"

Azula frowned, thinking desperately to try to come up with the perfect plan. Something that would make Father proud. She looked up, golden eyes locking onto golden eyes. "You could have _Azulon_ make you the Crown Prince," she said. "Lu Ten is dead, and Iroh said that he will never take another wife. If he becomes Fire Lord, there will be a war of succession when he dies," she began to smile, as the plan began to unfold in her mind. "While you would most definitely be the victor in the long run, especially since Iroh is old and foolish, much more likely to get himself killed, it would be costly and damaging to the Fire Nation. If you present your case as a servant to your father, he will see the wisdom of _stripping Iroh's birthright_!"

Ozai stared at her for a long moment, pondering. He reached out his hand, setting it on her shoulder, and a tiny smile came to his lips. "Well thought out," he said. "That is the kind of cunning I expect from my favored child."

Azula beamed. Favored child. Father favored her! Ozai rose, and walked away down the halls, leaving Azula to bask in her success. Father was proud of her! She wandered back toward her rooms, walking amongst the clouds. When she got there, she found it as she had been raised to leave it; in utter precision. Everything in its place, not a whit of deviation. Every sheet folded just so, every comb in its spot. She heard footfalls behind her, and turned.

Ursa was standing there, looking at her. For once, Zuko was nowhere nearby. "What do you want, _Mother?_" Azula asked, investing the last word with all the venom it deserved. Ursa actually flinched at it. She took a few steps forward. Azula took one back.

"You should be nicer to your brother," she said quietly. "He's probably the only one you're ever going to have."

"If he wants me to be nice to him, he'll have to earn it," Azula said harshly. "And we both know he'll never earn it."

"Azula," Ursa said. "We're family. You shouldn't talk about family that way."

"I'll talk about them any way I want to," she said. She turned, moving to the one thing which _wasn't_ in its place in the room. That _stupid_ doll that Uncle Iroh had sent her. She grabbed it, twisting its head. "Why did you come here?" she demanded.

"Azula, I'm worried about you," Ursa said. Lied. "You're too young to be this angry all the time."

"Shut up, _Ursa_!" she shouted. "I don't want your sympathy. Besides, you don't have any! Not for me! It all goes to Zuzu! Get away from me, and take your stupid little gifts with you," she hurled the doll into the hall, and followed it with a blast of fire, charring it. Ursa had a look on her face which Azula just didn't understand. And she didn't care to. She turned, slamming the door shut behind her.

Azula stared into the mirror, at the face she could barely recognize. It was sort of the point. She couldn't be Crown Princess of the Fire Nation today. She had to be somebody else. Father was right. It wasn't just about strength. She had to be cunning. She had to have the perfect plan. Nothing less would do. She scrutinized herself, making sure the red near the eyes was perfectly carved. The slightest detail might give her away.

She pulled back. Ursa was standing there, looking at her back, that sad look in golden eyes. Azula's brow drew down, and she breathed deep. "Come to watch me in my proudest moment? I will do what your doddering brother-in-law never could, not with an army and two years. You'll see just how wrong you were, putting all that effort into _Zuko_. You'll see how much you gain, wagering on a failure," Azula said. Ursa reached toward her with a gentle hand. It came very close to Azula's shoulder. She slammed the mirror shut, so hard that she was fairly sure she heard a crunch. She turned. Ursa was gone. Mai was picking at her fingernails with her knives, while Ty Lee had finally finished splashing around in the water, and was holding up handfuls of drying, white fur. Azula raised an eyebrow. That looked like the fur of that beast the Avatar kept as a pet. Could the Avatar be in Ba Sing Se? It was almost too much to hope.

Nobody will ever love you.

"Prepare yourselves!" Azula snapped. "We have a job to do, and people to meet."

* * *

"So that's it," Sokka said. "We don't have an exact date for the Day of Black Sun, since the Dai Li made the astronomer, Professor Lung disappear. But we know that it will be next summer, and it gives us a window of opportunity that we may never have again."

"It is a pity that Long Feng's room of records was mysteriously burned to the ground," Kuei said, rubbing his chin. He was probably emulating Sokka, scratching a beard that wasn't there. "There might have been some record as to the whereabouts of this 'Professor Lung'. But as it stands, this is a solid foundation. With a bit of time and effort, I don't doubt we can deduce the time of the eclipse. The war against the Fire Nation is in its last throes."

Sokka bowed and turned away, walking from the chambers which still didn't impress him very much. He couldn't put his finger on why. Maybe it was because everything was just so... brown. And so empty; despite being the Earth King, Kuei and Sokka were alone in the conversation. Which was good, because otherwise, Sokka would have taken eight times as long and been half as coherent. He went down the hallways, to where Aang and the others had gathered, leaving him to talk about the plan. It had been rough going at first, but Kuei seemed about as able to listen to a speech as Sokka was of giving one. Eventually, both came to the same conclusion. It just took a while.

Sokka sat down to a room of smiles and happy talk. "So," Sokka said into that pleasant fog. "This is it, isn't it?" he said.

Aang nodded. "We all have something we need to do," he said. He opened his scroll, reading it again. "This Guru Pathik says that he can help me master the Avatar State, let me go in and out of it any time I want to. I could finally be in control."

"Yeah," Sokka said. "And we know where our dad is. We can finally see him again. Tui La, it's been so long."

Everybody turned to Toph. "Hey, don't look at me. I ain't goin' nowhere," she said, leaning over and spitting onto the floor. "I've said everything I feel like saying to my mother."

Katara nodded, but she had a distracted look on her face. "What is it?" Sokka asked.

"I was just thinking that somebody has to stay behind to help with the invasion planning," she said. "The spirits know that Kuei isn't capable of doing that on his own."

"Kuei's got the Council of Five to help him," Aang said, but Katara shook her head.

"Kuei's going to need a lot more help than that. They've stood a defensive war against the Fire Nation. We're pretty much the only people in the world who've gone offensive against them," she said. She looked down at the table, and the tea sitting upon it. "One of us is going to have to stay behind."

"Hell, I've got nothing better to do," Toph offered.

"Somebody who can read and write," Katara clarified.

"...Oh."

Sokka sighed. "I guess it'll be me who stays behind," he said.

"No, Sokka, don't say that. I know how badly you want to help Dad," she said. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You go to Chameleon Bay. I'll stay here with the king."

Sokka was gobsmacked. He bounced to his feet, full of that excitement. "Oh! You are... the best... sister... EVER!" he emoted, before sweeping his little sister into a bear hug. She laughed as she was swung.

"Okay! Easy there, big brother," she said, pulling herself away. "You're dead right, though."

"Well, I'm going to get some tea," Toph said. "This stuff is garbage. There's got to be a better place _somewhere_ up here."

Everybody got up moved out through the hallways which were even now only being rebuilt. It was a hell of an entrance that they'd made. Sokka couldn't contain his excitement, finally seeing Dad again after four years apart. He wasn't ashamed to say that the whole time that they walked, it was the conversational topic. But even he ran down by the time they'd reached the open air, where Appa was staring down a particularly stubborn ostrich horse.

Aang quietly turned to Katara. "Look, Katara, there's something I've been meaning to say to you for a while, now," he said. Her expression shifted, growing a bit brighter. It was the kind of expression Sokka was used to seeing on Ty Lee.

"What is it, Aang?" she asked, her voice a little weavy. Aang smiled.

"Katara, I..." there was a long pause, where Aang looked around. "Wow. Weird. I thought for sure that something was going to happen right then. Katara, I wanted you to know, that I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Katara's expression shifted. Her smile was still there, but it became just a little less bright, for some reason. "Thank you, Aang," she said. Sokka grabbed ahold of Aang and quickly pulled him into a headlock, noogie-ing him as they advanced.

"Alright, enough weepy talk!" Sokka said. "Who's ready for our men-only man-trip?"

Sokka came to a complete stop when he beheld Earth King Kuei standing next to Appa. He quickly un-noogied Aang. "Aang, Katara, Sokka, the Earth Kingdoms owe you a debt we may never be able to fully repay. We will be awaiting your return."

"We are honored, Earth King Kuei," Aang said, bowing. Kuei shook his head, and bowed to Aang. When he rose, a Dai Li agent was approaching.

"Earth King," he said. "We have word coming into the city that a small group of women from the Southern Earth Kingdoms are approaching. They claim they are the Kyoshi Warriors."

Sokka grinned. "Hey, that could be Suki!" he said. All eyes turned to him. "She's been out in the world for a while. Her letter said that she was in the area, so it's not that surprising."

"You know these warriors?" Kuei asked.

"Oh, yeah. They taught me how to fight!" he said. "They're skilled warriors, about the most trustworthy allies you could ever ask for. Good friends of ours, too. They helped us defend Chin from an invasion a year ago."

"Then we shall await their arrival as honored guests," Kuei said enthusiastically. Kuei then went merrily on his way back into the palace. Aang turned, preparing to jump up onto his bison.

"Aang, wait," Katara said. He turned, and she shocked those watching by pulling him into a short kiss.

"Wow. That was..." Aang said, bewildered

"About damned time," Toph muttered. She took a step away, but paused, shaking her head slowly. In a voice with just the slightest hint of wonder, she said: "You know, I'm really going to miss you guys."

"Me too," Sokka said.

"Yeah," Aang said. Then, Katara pulled Sokka into a hug with Aang. Toph rolled her eyes, then joined in as well.

"I get it, I get it," Sokka said. "We all love each other. Seriously."

The embrace ended, and the women moved away, Toph kicking at pebbles on her way down to the city. Katara just stared up as Aang and Sokka rose into the sky, and flew to the East. Toward family. Toward destiny.

* * *

Long Feng was incensed. Arrested, on charges levied by outsiders and children! He sat in his iron cell. Ironic that his last act as Grand Secretariat would be setting up the rooms he would find himself a prisoner in. But he would find a way out. He had lived too hard and too long to be done in like this, and to fade away into ignominy.

A tray slid through the door. "Dinner," came the voice. It was the voice of Ning. "The Council of Five and the military are loyal to the Earth King. But the Dai Li remain loyal to you. Long Feng. Sir."

Long Feng smiled. Even though he was doomed to this tiny hole, one of his own device, no less, he was not powerless. He rose from nothing, to become the Grand Secretariat of the Dai Li. He controlled all of Ba Sing Se. And he would again. He just had to be patient. And if there was one thing that his long life had taught him, it was how to be patient. He began to eat his dinner, something that lesser nobles wouldn't be embarrassed to eat, and began to plot the downfall of his enemies. It left him with a warm, fuzzy sensation inside.

* * *

Jee plucked at his pipa, playing an old song that he didn't know the words for. He'd only heard it from a distance, years ago on General Iroh's yacht. He still didn't know how it all went. Only that it ended with a flourish and a reprise of 'secret tunnel!'. It was astounding how quickly he'd gotten used to living like this. Then again, he didn't have much of an option. If the Fire Nation still knew that he was alive, they'd have hunted him down like a possum-chicken.

Jee halted as he heard a rustling outside his hut. He put his instrument aside. No reason to damage it for nothing. He stuck his head out, reaching for his hat. Then he remembered that it had been lost a short while ago. Another damned cat gator had rolled on it, tearing it to shreds. How the locals could keep those wild beasts as pets, Jee had no idea. He stepped out, looking around his clearing, that slightly higher point in Misty Swamp. It was mid day, so some light filtered down through the canopy.

He had heard something. What, he wasn't sure. He walked out to his fire pit. Dead, of course; he wasn't cooking anything. He did a slow scan around the edges of the clearing, listening for that sound again. When he finally turned all the way back, there was a man standing in front of his door. He wore pale grey leather armor, and had at his hip a long, curved sword. Jee dropped into a firebending stance.

There was another rustle. He turned. Another person in pale leather armor. This one's sword was out. It had a single edge, curved for deep cuts. Jee turned again. Another appeared out of the woods to the other side. Jee didn't need to glance to know that a fourth approached from behind. The one in front of Jee's door took off his helmet. His hair was orange like copper, curling away from his head. When he spoke, it was with a Whalesh accent.

"The Empress wishes a word with you," he said, in fluent Huojian. Jee didn't know how many he could take out. Or even how many hadn't revealed themselves. But nobody revealed themselves unless they knew they had the upper hand. Jee moved out of his stance, his hands out to his sides.

"Very well," Jee said. "Let's see what this Empress of yours wants me to hear."

* * *

The warrior in the green and black armor strode up the stairs. To her left, hundreds of nobles and soldiers, bowing reverently toward her. To her right, the same. At her back, the three rings of Ba Sing Se reached into the distance behind her, its splendor rivaled only by its scale. There was no other city in the world quite like Ba Sing Se.

She walked, and her companions, her fellow warriors walked with her. Their path took them through the heart of the promenade, which was stone as far as the eye could see. There was a great deal of stone in this city. No big surprise as to why. She walked forward, to where a man sat atop a gold and green palanquin at the foot of a great stairs. The warriors bowed.

"In our hour of greatest need, it is with great honor that I present to you all, the greatest fighters of the Southern Earth Kingdom, descended in spirit from Kyoshi herself. Our esteemed allies; the Kyoshi Warriors," the Earth King declared. The warrior in the black and green armor looked up, and light danced in golden eyes.

"We are the Earth King's humble servants," Azula said, a smirk on her face.

* * *

_Be a pal. Leave a review._


	19. The Eastern Air Temple

**Biggest change between the relationships of canon (besides the fact that Sukka has become incredibly unlikely) was my handling of Aang and Katara's relationship. She was told she would fall for a powerful bender. She traveled with one of the most powerful entities in the mortal world, a person who was kind to and caring of her. So she fell for him. Unfortunately, he was flipping oblivious. Poor girl. Also note that Pathik's lessons aren't necessarily the same as Canon Pathik's. There's a reason for that, one that'll bite Aang in the ass an entire book from now.**

**Only two chapters left to go, and an Avatar shows himself, fully realized, at long last.**

* * *

Zuko dumped a bucket of water over himself, gasping for the cold as it sluiced away a nights worth of heavy sweat. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Scarred. Haggard. Borderline emaciated. Zuko looked far older than his eighteen years. He wiped a hand down his face, pulling most of the water, stinging and stinking, off of it and away from his beard. He stared at his reflection, and his reflection stared back. He laid a hand on the scar which more or less defined his existence.

"Zuko, are you alright?" Iroh's voice was right behind him, but in a way, it was unbelievably distant. Zuko turned, pulling the hair away from his eyes. "Has your fever broken?"

"Yes, Uncle," Zuko said.

"Yes to your fever, or yes to are you alright?" Iroh asked. Zuko just moved past him, eager to have a proper pair of pants on. Months of wearing sack cloth hanboks and glorified skirts had left him hungry for more familiar fashions. While a true pair of slacks would be impossible to find in this continent, his new 'uniform' was close enough that it made no difference. In truth, nothing really made a difference.

Iroh moved next to Zuko as he dressed, eventually turning Zuko away from his drawers. "Zuko, if there's something wrong, I want you to know you can talk to me," he said. Zuko just turned away. There wasn't anything to talk about. There wasn't anything to Zuko. He was empty. Hollowed out.

It wasn't the Dai Li who did it. He was empty long before. He just hadn't realized it. But what they did threw everything into stark relief. He had neither his honor, nor his birthright, nor his friends, nor his home. The only family he had left at all was Iroh. He stared at his shirt. Part of him wanted to set it ablaze and watch it burn. But it was a small part. A part atrophied from lack of use. He was empty. There was no purpose.

"Prince Zuko!" a memory of Iroh called to him. Zuko looked up, in that memory, pain stabbing through every part of his being. "Prince Zuko! I am here!"

Zuko couldn't do anything but scream. The burns were still smoldering, his eye blanched to temporary blindness. "Just leave me alone!" Zuko shouted, trying to fight off the people as they moved with their ointments and balms and bandages.

"Zuko!" Iroh's voice was suddenly stern. "You cannot live alone in this world. No man can. Accept the help of those who care about you," he ordered. Zuko finally relented, and the surgeons began to move in, bandaging his wounds. Iroh sat there the entire night, until Zuko had become hoarse for his screaming. Eventually, his pain had given way to sleep. When he awakened, Iroh was there.

"Uncle Iroh," Zuko said. "It hurts so much..."

"I understand, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. "Many things in our lives hurt. And there is greater pain in your life. I am sorry that I had to be the one to tell you this, Prince Zuko, but your father Ozai has declared you banished from the Fire Nation."

"What? Why would he do that?" Zuko bolted upright, full of all the fury a boy not even fourteen years old could muster. Iroh made a settling motion.

"Ozai has always done things for his own reasons, and those reasons are not those that others hope that they might be," Iroh hanged his head. "I could not watch as he did what he did to you. I am sorry I could not stand with you in that."

Zuko shook his head, running tender fingers along the mass of bandages that covered the left side of his face. "What will I do?"

"Ozai has declared you dishonorable," Iroh said. He shook his head slowly. "He said that you could only restore your honor by taking up the quest of this family, by bringing the Avatar to the Fire Lord."

"But they've been looking for the Avatar for a century," Zuko said. "It's a hopeless quest."

"If it is, then we shall be hopeless together," Iroh said. "I have spoken to my brother. When you are put out from this city, I will join you."

"Why would you do that? What do _you_ want from me?" Zuko snapped. Iroh just hung his head.

"Maybe I have a soft spot in my heart for hopeless quests?" he offered.

That had been four years ago, and then some. He was cast out of the Fire Nation on his fourteenth birthday, and wandered the world since. Zuko looked at his shirt, then pulled it on. He might be empty, but he knew what he had to do. He owed Uncle more than he would ever be able to repay. Of all the people in the world, only Uncle had stood by him when Zuko fell and floundered. So, despite the emptiness, Zuko had purpose. He would never see home. He would never reunite with Mai. He would never be Fire Lord. But he had Uncle. That was something.

* * *

Azula was quite pleased with herself as she scrubbed of the ridiculous makeup those Kyoshi Warriors wore. It was one thing to prepare yourself for battle, it was quite another to make one seem ghoulish. She smirked, looking at her companions. "This is a stroke of destiny. We have been given a unique opportunity."

"We get to see Mai in makeup that's not totally depressing?" Ty Lee offered. Mai laughed sarcastically, but Azula cut them both off with a glance.

"No. I'm talking about taking down the entire Earth Kingdom with a single blow. For a hundred years, the Fire Nation has broken themselves against the Outer Walls. But _we_ are inside them. We are in a position to take the city, and end this war once and for all."

"Wow. You're really confident," Ty Lee said brightly. Azula rolled her eyes.

"There is a political schism inside the palace of Ba Sing Se. The bodyguards of the King are not loyal to him. And they are a force which I know I can control. All it will take is a nudge," she said. "So, you are going to help me nudge the Dai Li."

* * *

Sokka gave a glance over his shoulder as Aang flew away, moving even further to the east. He wanted to believe that everything was going to be alright. He had a new positive attitude and everything... but there was a gnawing at his gut. He hoped it was just that wary anticipation; it had been so long since he'd seen his father. He walked down into the encampment, a cluster of blue and white yurts on the edge of the water.

A man in blue armor spotted him, pulling a knife. "We've got an intruder!" he shouted in Yqanuac. Sokka just walked forward, and the man stared at him, his eyes blazing. Sokka stood before this man, and suddenly, the burning eyes became a gleeful grin. The knife was tossed away, embedded into a chunk of driftwood, and Sokka was being embraced.

"So good to see somebody from home!" Ogan said. He stood back, looking Sokka up and down. Others were gathering grins on their faces. "Look at how big you've gotten. Puberty must have hit you like a plate of baleen."

"And you're finally getting your hair out," Gandik said. "Good. You're not supposed to wear a wolf's-tail like a mohawk."

Sokka smirked, but then looked through the yurts to the largest one, sitting just off the center of the camp. Everybody fell silent, and parted to let him through. He pushed aside the flap of the tent, and saw a man looking down at a set of maps, his concentration marked on his face. He ran his fingers along the beard which clung to his jaw. Then, he turned, looking up. His eyes went wide. "Sokka," he said.

Sokka smiled, feeling still a bit queasy. "Hi Dad," he said, unsure of his voice. Hakoda stood, forgetting the maps for a moment, and stood before Sokka. They were almost the same height. How quickly the time flew. Hakoda smiled, then pulled Sokka into a hug, tight and strong. The queasiness went away. Sokka had is father back.

* * *

Aang landed at the steps of the Eastern Air Temple. In many ways, it was much like his own home, a set of towers which thrust into the sky, sitting serenely upon a mountain. Unlike the Southern Air Temple, this one was almost entirely in ruins. Only one tower still remained, and even that was mostly rubble. The sun was setting in the west, painting the entire scene red. In a way, it was like looking back in time, to the morning after the Purge, when the fires still burned low.

Aang walked along the spiraling path. It wasn't part of any construction the Air Nomads put into place. It was new. Relatively. It lead up to a small, flat topped mound of earth. Upon this mound sat an ancient man with a long, white beard. He was seated in meditation, butterflies flitting around him. "Are you Guru Pathik?" Aang asked. "You wanted to see me?"

"Indeed," Pathik said. He had an odd accent, quite unlike anything from the Earth Kingdoms that he'd ever encountered. Was this the accent of the East Air Temple? "I am a spiritual brother of the Air Nomads, and I studied with them for many years."

"You're an Air Nomad?" Aang asked, sudden excitement in his voice. "Does that mean you're an airbender, too?"

"No. I am a lay brother, unconcerned with elementalism," he said evenly. "But I knew many airbenders. I was a good friend of Monk Gyatso."

Aang was confused. "It said in your letter that you could help me to control the Avatar State."

"Indeed," Pathik said serenely. "In order to create balance in the world, you must first find balance within yourself. This is a spiritual journey which I undertook more than a century ago. And the first step in that journey, is this," he said, holding a bowl toward Aang. Aang took it and drank of it, but immediately gagged.

"Gross! It tastes like onions and banana juice," he complained. Pathik took his own bowl and drained it.

"That's because it is! Yum yum," he said. He set the bowl aside. "In order to enter the Avatar State at will, you must open up all of your chakras. Tell me everything you know about chakras."

Aang rubbed his eye. "What's a chakra?"

Pathik shrugged serenely. "I see. Please, follow me."

Aang followed as Pathik rose, the butterflies following with him, and went off of the mound, to a stream which was running nearby. Pathik took a stick and pointed to the pools which had formed as the water flowed down. The pools were murky. "Our bodies are filled with energy, Aang. And the energy in our bodies collects in pools, much like these ones. But life is messy and harsh. Things clutter the energy within ourselves. Now, if the water was free to flow, the water would be clear and sweet. But it is not. Why?

"Because there's gunk at the cataracts," Aang pointed out. Pathik nodded, and poked the gunk away with his stick. The water from the top pool began to press through, overwhelming the gunk on the lower pools, eventually clearing the water. "And when you open the paths between them, the water flows," Aang said, beginning to understand.

"There are seven chakras which run up the body. Each is a pool of energy with a different purpose, and each can be blocked off by a different kind of emotional baggage. It is a very intense experience to open the chakras, and once the process has begun, it must be followed to its completion," Pathik said.

"I'll do whatever it takes," Aang said. Pathik nodded, then sat beside the water. Aang joined him.

"Very well. The first chakra is called the Earth Chakra; it rests at the base of the spine. It deals with survival, and is blocked by fear. What do you fear, Aang?" Pathik asked. Aang looked inside himself, and a fire began to burn before him. It was like he was firebending, but he knew it wasn't him. His flames were never better than yellow. This one was an electric blue. And from that flame, he saw a pair of golden eyes, staring at him. Taunting him. Waiting for him. Aang recoiled. Pathik's voice came serene through the spectacle of Azula rising out of the flames. "Your vision is not real. You are concerned for your survival, but you must relinquish those fears. Let them flow down the creek."

Aang stared at this Azula, staring with those burning, hate filled golden eyes at him. Ozai was dangerous, but it was a nebulous, distant danger. Azula had endangered them. Azula had almost crippled Toph. He closed his eyes, and let that fear move away. He felt a bit of calm come over him. When he opened his eyes, Azula was gone. Aang smiled. Pathik smiled back.

"Next, is the Water Chakra, located in the groin. It deals with pleasure, and is blocked by guilt," Pathik said. "Look at the guilt which burdens you so."

Aang hung his head, thinking back to that day, both three years and a century ago. That stab of fear, of losing everything and everybody that he ever cared about. A note on his bed, and a mad flight into the storm. "I ran away," Aang said. Then, he remembered the North Pole, his wrath as he smashed through the Fire Nation's fleet, uncaring what lives he snuffed out. "I hurt all those people."

"Accept the reality that these things happened, but do not let them poison your soul. If you wish to be a positive influence no the world, you need to learn to forgive yourself," Pathik said. Aang smirked at that. Kyoshi and Yangchen were right. He had to forgive himself. So he just let that guilt go, steeling himself to never repeat his past mistakes. A serenity settled onto him. When Aang opened his eyes, Pathik was smiling. "Very good. We will continue after dinner."

"What's for dinner?" Aang asked. Pathik grinned, pulling a bowl of that sickening concoction out of the gods only know where. Aang gagged a bit.

* * *

"Gods, could this get any more tedious," Mai complained. "We've already been here a day. I don't know how _anybody_ could fight in a costume this... girly."

Ty Lee grinned. "Maybe that was why we were able to beat those girls and take their clothes!" she laughed. Mai rolled her eyes.

"And how much longer do we need to stay here? If I have to clean up one more piece of Royal Bear poop, I'm going to stab somebody," she muttered. Ty Lee just flipped up onto her hands, and began walking around on them.

"Princess Azula said that we can go back to the Fire Nation as soon as we capture the Avatar," Ty Lee said. "We just have to be patient."

"Shut up!" Mai snapped. "Do you want everybody to know we're spies?"

Ty Lee shrank back with a quiet sorry. Azula smiled, and walked away, moving down the halls. The Dai Li were everywhere. They had to have heard that. Her suspicions were confirmed when only a minute or so later, she felt stone bindings wrap 'round her hands, holding them out to her sides. A man in green robes approached her and put a bag over her head.

If she hadn't planned this, she would have probably just killed him. Instead, she shouted and cursed, fighting in a way that they would expect, but would give her no chance for escape. She could have done much more if she wanted to, but it was in her best interests to be 'captured' right now. Eventually, she was brought to a place under the city, filled with green, glowing crystals. The bag was removed, and she was pushed into an iron clad room. A middle aged man was sitting there, kneeling patiently, his keen green eyes staring at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Azula roared. "Your agents swoop down and kidnap me! You will not treat a Kyoshi Warrior this way!"

The man, Long Feng, if she heard correctly, smiled up at her. "And I have not treated a Kyoshi Warrior that way," he said smoothly. "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

Azula feigned a wince. "What do you want?" she asked, her tones much meeker.

"I believe we can aid each other," he said. "It is time that I regained my proper control of Ba Sing Se away from that incompetent. You have something that I need."

"Oh? What?" Azula asked, seeming for all the world an ingénue.

"Trust, and access to the Earth King," Long Feng said, rising from his seat. He was quite a bit taller than her, but he didn't try to loom. He just stood, waiting.

"Why should I help you?" Azula asked.

"Because I can give you the Avatar," Long Feng said, a wicked grin growing on his face. "The only choice you'll need to make is whether you want him dead or alive."

Azula smirked. "I'm listening."

* * *

Aang managed to hold his dinner down... barely. Pathik had take Aang to a spot in the ruins of the inner sanctum, where notable Air Nomads were immortalized in statue. "The third chakra is called the Fire Chakra. It is located in the stomach," Pathik said.

"My Fire Chakra would like to eat something other than onion and banana juice," Aang said, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Pathik laughed merrily.

"Good one," he said. "The Fire Chakra deals with willpower, and is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of, Aang?"

Aang looked inside himself. To the desert of Si Wong. To the way he'd almost left everybody to die so he could have Appa back. To the way he treated Ty Lee, who was only trying to help him. "I shouldn't have acted that way," he said. He thought back even farther, to a night in a tent with a wounded warrior, overhearing stories of a youth he wasn't a part of. Of a fear that he was going to be alone. "I shouldn't have lied to them."

"You will never find balance in your life unless you can accept these mistakes as part of your journey. They are now a part of you, and you have grown from them. To deny them would be as denying your legs for favor of your feet," Pathik said. Aang nodded, and felt his willpower tighten. "That Chakra was less of an opening creek, and more of a... burping bison?"

Aang looked over and belched. "Ugh. Tastes like onions and banana juice. But something else, too. Pickles?"

Pathik shrugged, bewildered even in his serenity. He changed his meditation pose somewhat. "The fourth chakra is in the heart. It is called..."

"The Heart Chakra?" Aang guessed.

"Very good. You will be a guru yourself, some day," Pathik said. "The Heart Chakra deals with love, and is blocked by hatred. What is it that you hate, Aang?"

Aang's eyes tightened closed, and in his mind, he pictured Sozin. He pictured Ozai. He felt that burning hatred that he felt all of these months, flaming to the surface, bursting through his very skin. These were the faces of evil. These were a cancer on the Earth itself. Pathik let out a sigh.

"Such ferocity of anger," he said. "You have suffered much, haven't you? But where there is hatred, there is also love. They are opposite sides of the same coin. The grief that you feel for those that you have lost is not without meaning, but it should not weigh you down. The love that your people gave to you is not gone, it is simply reborn, into new love."

Aang suddenly had a vision of Katara. Sleeping close to him. Shaving his head. Humming that song she always did. Asking him if he was alright. Calming him when he was enraged. Motivating him when he was about to give up. Trusting him. Smiling at him. Aang's eyes snapped open. "Holy crap," Aang said, surprised. "I'm in love with Katara."

"That is not usually the reaction I get when I teach somebody to clear the Heart Chakra," Pathik said. He then smiled. "Congratulations, though."

* * *

Toph wasn't one to follow signs. It wasn't like she had that option. But if there was one advantage to being blind, she was much better at getting the most out of her other senses. She could hear people talking from almost a li away. She could taste poison in the first bite of an apple before she even swallowed. She could feel everything around her, wood, metal, or stone. And she could smell tea. So, like so many predators in the wild, Toph followed her nose.

She walked, letting the smell of tea guide her. Despite the posh nature of the upper ring, there were precious few places to get a decent cup of tea. Most of them were mediocre at best. But this one called to her. It was familiar and close, almost a _friendly_ tea, if that could be believed. She walked, skirting around the people milling around. The tea house was large and open. A banner flapped in the breeze over the door. Its contents, anybody's guess but Toph's. She caught the sleeve of a passing messenger. "Hey, what does that say?" she asked. The messenger turned toward her, skeptical.

"Can you not read?" he asked.

"Can I not see?" she countered, staring up at him with her useless eyes. He cleared his throat, contrite.

"It says 'Jasmine Dragon Teahouse, Grand Opening'," he said. "And it says something about one free cup of tea. Pardon me."

Toph let the man go, and a smile went onto her face. Free stuff beat the hell out of paying for it. She strutted into the tea house. It was fairly busy, dozens of people sitting at their tables, talking over a number of subjects. The smells of dozens of kinds of teas tickled at Toph's nose, but there was one in particular that called her attention. She walked up to the counter, cutting through the waves of voices and heartbeats. "Hey, can I get some service, here?" she asked.

"Of course you can," a familiar, gravely voice said. "What would you..."

Toph's eyes went wide. "Cool Old Guy!" she shouted. "You're not dead!"

"There are days when I wish it wasn't so, but this is not one of them. How are you?" he asked, moving around the counter. Toph gave his big belly a big hug. It was nice to see old friends. Toph pulled back and held up her burned arms.

"I've had worse days," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm following my life's calling," he said. "I always wanted to open up a little tea shop. I never thought it would be in Ba Sing Se!"

"Sweeeet," Toph said. He walked to a side room, well away from the rabble, and motioned to a chair. She seated herself. "I have to say, when I saw that crazy chick Azula put you down, I thought you were a goner."

"I am remarkably hard to kill," he answered. He briefly left, then returned with a pot of tea and a pair of cups. "You seem to be much improved. I was worried that your burns were too severe, that you would lose your hands."

"Yeah, well, I've had a bit of help," Toph admitted. Grudgingly. "But I fell in with a bunch of people who ain't half bad. Since I got in with them, I can see better than ever, I became a champion in the Earth Rumble. Hell, I've even done things that people said were completely impossible. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!"

"It is good to see that you've found some people that help bring out the best in you," he said. Another person came into the room.

"Uncle, what are you doing back here?" the younger voice asked.

"Hey! It's Angry Jerk," Toph said. "Whole gang's here! Hope you don't hold a grudge for me walkin' off with that money."

There was a pause, while Angry Jerk looked down at Toph, then let out a weary sigh. "I see you've paid the price for it. Uncle, we have a of customers out there, and I can't make tea like you do."

"I'm having a conversation," the old man said.

"Either deal with your customers or don't open a teahouse," Angry Jerk said, angrily. And somewhat jerkily. He turned, walking out and slamming the door. The old man shook his head slowly.

"I must apologize for my nephew. He has had a traumatizing past few days."

"You'd better watch him," Toph said, worry worming into her. "He sounded angry, but he wasn't. He was tired. A dangerous kind of tired. I think your nephew is runnin' out of steam."

"I feared he would fall into despair," the old man said quietly. He turned back to Toph. "Please, sit and enjoy your tea. There is much we have to catch up on."

"Oh, you've got no frickin' idea," Toph said, drinking the tea. It was heavenly.

* * *

Pathik was doing an involved yoga when Aang found him. Evening was looming large, but Pathik was empathic that the chakras be opened each in their proper time. So Aang waited. And waited. Finally, under the gaze of a weathered statue of Monk Mhandus, the Air Nomad who more or less founded the nation thousands of years before, Pathik opened his eyes. "Oh. There you are. I thought I would have to go and find you. It is time to open your fifth chakra."

He settled into a meditative pose. "The fifth chakra, sometimes called the Voice Chakra, is located in the throat, and deals with truth. It is blocked by lies. The ones we tell each other, and the ones we tell ourselves. What have you lied about?"

Aang pondered, in that same meditative pose, until the biggest of his lies bubbled up. He could hear Katara asking that question again, from more than two years ago. 'Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?' Aang frowned. "Because I didn't want to be," he muttered. Pathik sighed.

"You cannot lie about your own nature, especially not to yourself. There is no more vital person to be honest to than yourself. You must accept that you are the Avatar."

Aang took that truth and pulled it inwards, toward the core of his being. He was the Avatar. He was the day he was born. He would be on the day he died. It was a fact, as constant as the dirt or the revolutions of the heavens. He looked up, and Pathik nodded, sagely. "_Very_ good, Aang. You have opened the Voice Chakra," he moved into a different pose. "The sixth pool of energy is called the Light Chakra, and it rests in the middle of the forehead. It deals with insight, and it is blocked by illusion. The greatest illusion that we old is that of separation, that we are all alone. The truth is, we are all the same."

Aang pondered, looking to pierce the illusion. He began to think on all of the people he'd met over his journey, and in his life. Beginning with his mother, and then through every monk. The other students that he'd surpassed in airbending at the age of six. The teachers that he had surpassed at the age of ten. Gyatso. The Air Sages. Katara. Sokka. Haru and Tyro. The Mechanist and Teo. Jet, Zhao, Combustion Man. The faces began to stream past him, faster and faster. He saw everybody, and in ways he didn't expect. He saw Zuko, burnt out and quietly waiting for the end. He saw Azula, staring hauntedly into a mirror. They were all one. They were all connected, not just through him, but through lines that existed everywhere. "It's like the nations," Aang said. "They're all one people, but they live as though divided. Everything is connected."

"Yes. Even the separation between the elements is an illusion," Pathik said serenely. "If you open your mind, you will see that the elements are simply four parts of a united whole. Even metal, culled from earth, purified and refined, is still a part of the earth."

"That must be how Toph bent it!" Aang said. His eyes opened. He understood the connections between all things. Pathik nodded.

"Very good. Now, we must wait until sunset for the final chakra. Everything must be in its time," he said. He reached behind him and offered Aang a bowl. "Onion and banana juice?"

"Thank you, Guru Pathik," Aang said, taking the bowl.

* * *

"Have you been able to find Professor Lung?" Katara asked. General How shook his head from across the table.

"No, but we have called in all of the most learned in celestial matters. The exact date of the next solar eclipse will be known to us by then. Besides, the invasion is at the earliest, many months away. Have some faith, master Katara," How said. The other Generals were relative unknowns to Katara. Only Sung, the easily panicked general from the Battle of the Drill was familiar.

"Fong's base in the Heel of Ru Nan will be the launching point for the invasion," How said, changing gears quickly. "Being that we lack the navy for such a large scale mobilization, we will be needing to hire a _large_ number of mercenary Whalesh vessels; after your own Water Tribes, their seamanship is without peer. And we have nine months to gather the forces that we need. When we have everything that we need, we will push through the Gates of Azulon and storm Sozin City, on the Day of Black Sun."

How bent the earth, and colored stone markers shifted from the launching point toward the Fire Nation capitol. When they arrived, Momo leapt out onto the board, tackling the red markers used to indicate the enemy. Katara laughed. "Or we could just send out Momo to do some damage," she said. All eyes were on her, and in silence. Somebody in the room coughed. "'Cause the... Sorry."

How flicked the markers back upright, startling Momo and making him run back to Katara's shoulder. "All we need," How said, "is the Earth King's seal to begin the buildup," he placed a scroll onto the raised stone edge of the table. He gestured, and the block slid across the broad map to Katara's place on the far side of it.

Katara picked up the scroll. "I'll bring these to Earth King Kuei right away. Thank you," she said, bowing, before heading out the door. The war room was quite apart from the Royal Palace. It made no sense from a practical standpoint, but Katara knew that _was_ sort of the point. This city existed as it did because it divorced itself from common sense. She moved through the courtyard, but felt a bit peckish. Surely, it couldn't hurt to go and grab a bite to eat, maybe a cup of tea?

She turned, and headed down into the upper ring. There were a lot of places she had to choose from, but one in particular caught her eye. It wasn't there last time she'd been down this street, about a week ago. The Jasmine Dragon. A banner underneath proclaimed its grand opening, and its slogan 'better to live three days without food than one day without tea'. Katara looked to the lemur riding her shoulder. "What do you think, Momo? A cup of tea before we get back to the king?" she asked. Momo just chirped mildly, glancing around.

Katara headed into the building. It was broad and open, and there were quite a few people here. The smells of many different teas washed over her. It was very pleasant. She turned to a server nearby. "Table for two...er, I mean, one, please," she said. The server motioned to a free table in a corner, and Katara seated herself.

"We need three jasmine, two green and a lychee," a voice said. Katara's eyes snapped open wide. She leaned forward, and she saw a bearded man, waiting at the counter. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"I'm brewing as fast as I can," General Iroh's voice was utterly unmistakable, as he moved past the counter, setting down a pot. The server turned. He was a grown man, with a beard and well kept hair, but there was absolutely no mistaking that scar on the left side of his face. Zuko and General Iroh were in Ba Sing Se. Katara quickly got out of her seat and ran out the door. Somebody had to know! The enemy was inside the walls!

Katara ran to the palace, panic pushing her limbs even when they began to try to flag on her. She didn't let them. Finally, she got inside the halls, and spotted green and black armor in a side room. The Kyoshi Warriors! Suki! They'd be able to do something. Katara bolted through the doors and slammed them behind her. "Suki! Thank goodness you're here," she said. "The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city! Zuko and General Iroh are in the upper..." Katara trailed off.

None of these women were Suki. Not one of them would have come up to Suki's chin. One of the warriors turned to Katara, and the light reflected in golden eyes. A smirk, unlike any Katara had seen on any but one face, appeared. Katara's eyes went wide, and she furiously bent her water out, freezing it even as it flowed into a sharp spike which she hurled at Azula.

Mai moved faster than Katara could have believed, leaping forward and kicking the spike off its path and into a fireplace. Ty Lee moved faster still, sliding under Katara's attack and driving her hard knuckles into a few spots around Katara's chest and hips. Katara felt all of the blood rush out of her head, and she collapsed to the ground, her water pooling around her. She couldn't move. Everything was cold.

"Don't worry, little peasant," Azula said, smugly. "We'll take care of Zuzu and his uncle. I think it's time for a family reunion. Dai Li! Take her away."

If Katara could have, she would have wept in frustration.

* * *

The stars shone overhead as Aang and Pathik meditated on the highest point of the Eastern Air Temple. It was the sole remaining tower, and even then, it was itself in poor shape. But it was still there. Pathik finally opened his eyes. "It is time," he said. "We will now work to open your seventh and final chakra. Once you open this chakra, you will be able to move in and out of the Avatar State at will, and have complete control and awareness of your actions."

Aang smiled. "Let's do this, then. I'm eager to become the Avatar everybody believes I am."

Pathik nodded. "The Thought Chakra is located at the crown of the head, and it deals with thought and pure cosmic energy. It is blocked by earthly attachment. Meditate on what it is that attaches you to this world."

Aang meditated. He thought of Appa, but knew that Appa was his spirit guide. He would be there no matter what happened. He thought of his quest, his war. It would end someday. Everything he thought of, he knew wasn't tying him to the world. Everything except Katara. Her shining eyes just locked him in place. How could he have been such an idiot to not realize what he felt for her? Gods, what did she feel for him? That kiss was a good indicator.

"Now, let all of those attachments drift away. Let them flow down the river, forgotten," Pathik said. Aang's eyes snapped open.

"Are you out of your mind?" Aang asked. "How could I let go of Katara? I _just _figured out I'm in love with her, and now you want me to cast her aside?"

Pathik was unmoved from his serenity. "You must learn to let her go, or you will not be able to allow the pure cosmic energy to flow in from the universe."

Aang stood, gesticulating angrily. "Why in the Hell would I chose cosmic energy over Katara?" he shouted. "How can it be a bad thing that I feel attachment to her? Three chakras ago, it was a good thing!"

Pathik's eyes opened slowly. "You _must_ let her go, or you will never become a True Avatar."

Aang fumed, but eventually sat down. He mimicked Pathik's stance, and tried. God gods and spirits he tried. But every time he did, he saw that smile, those shining blue eyes. He felt that warmth that she could send running through him. It was impossible. "I can't do it!" Aang said. "I'm sorry, but I can't let go of Katara."

"Aang," Pathik said. "If you wish to master the Avatar State, you must unlock all the chakras. To come this far on the path and not complete the task would have catastrophic consequences."

Aang sighed. He knew he had to do it. No matter what he wanted. That was the burden of the Avatar. "Very well," Aang said, his stomach flopping as he felt what could have been slipping away. "I'll try."

It was like tearing out his beating heart. "Now, think of your attachments, and let them go," Pathik's voice was distant, as he felt Katara slipping away from him. What would be left of him when he was finished? Would he even want to keep fighting? What was there left for Aang to fight for? "Let the pure cosmic energy flow."

Aang felt a shift, a surge of power. He opened his eyes, and saw himself aloft amongst the heavens, staring down at the world below. Ahead, he could see a figure, shining in the distance. The Avatar. Avatar Aang. He took a step.

"Stop!" a woman's voice cried out. Aang turned, alarmed. Kyoshi staggered and stumbled into view. She looked battered, like she'd just fought a million men bare handed, and only just barely won. "Aang, you can't continue on this path," she said.

"What? Why? Guru Pathik said..."

"It doesn't matter what the Guru said," Kyoshi pulled herself up. "You have to go back. Now."

"But why?" Aang asked. "Why did you come here?"

"Katara is in jeopardy," Kyoshi said. "Dire jeopardy. Azula ambushed Suki in the woods outside of Ba Sing Se. I wasn't able to stop her."

"You weren't able?" Aang asked. Kyoshi shook her head.

"I've been with Suki since she summoned me across the veil on Avatar Day, last year," Kyoshi said. She bore herself up. "Secret's out, I guess."

"But if I don't complete this journey," Aang began. Kyoshi shook her head again.

"There are many paths to the Avatar State. This is one of them. Choose. Katara, or cosmic power. I can't guarantee you'll be able to have both."

Aang looked ahead, to the Avatar Aang. Below, to the world. "You know the choice I have to make."

"And you know the choice I have to make," Kyoshi said. "I don't know if I'll be able to contact you again. Not for a very long time."

"Goodbye," Aang said. "And thank you, Avatar Kyoshi."

Kyoshi faded from view. Aang gave one last look to the path not taken, then opened his eyes. "I've got to go," Aang said, standing upright. He almost fell over, since his balance wasn't yet restored. Returning from the spirit world could be taxing. "Katara is in danger."

"No, Aang," Pathik said, rising up. His serenity was gone. "If you choose attachment, you will lock the seventh chakra, and you won't be able to enter the Avatar State at all!"

Aang looked at his guru, and smiled a small, sad smile. "Then that is the path I will walk," he said. He snapped open his staff and glided down, to where Appa was waiting to bring Aang to his destiny. One way or the other.

* * *

The men of the Southern Water Tribe worked well into the evening, and Sokka worked with them. "This bay leads directly into Ba Sing Se," Hakoda said. "And the Earth Kingdoms, while they don't lack for armies, are pathetic when it comes to naval defense. So, we've been deploying these mines throughout the bay." Bato, holding a bag over his shoulder and pouring a goopy substance into a mine, nodded.

"Your father invented these tangle mines," he said. Sokka leaned over the mine Bato was filling.

"Explosive, buoyant," he sniffed. "And foul smelling!"

"Exactly," Hakoda said, putting a wooden plug into the top. "The mines are filled with skunk-weed and bronze kelp. When a ship blows the mine, the kelp tangles in the propeller, halting the ship. And the foul stench drives people to abandon the ship," he smirked. "I call it 'the Stink 'n Sink'!"

There was silence in the camp, until Sokka burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one, dad," he said.

"I see you have your father's sense of humor," Bato commented, filling another mine. A man came running into camp.

"Chief Hakoda! Fire Nation ships have been sighted entering Chameleon Bay," he said.

Hakoda nodded. "Very well. Men, cap these mines and prepare for battle," he moved off, grabbing a shield from the pile nearby. Sokka rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um... what am I supposed to do?" Sokka asked. Hakoda turned back to him.

"Didn't you hear me? I said to prepare for battle," he repeated, a smile on his face. Sokka grinned, bounding up and grabbing a shield and spear. It wasn't his usual armament. Come to think of it, the last time he tried using a spear was the morning they found Aang in the iceburg. He was looking for a properly fitting set of armor when a loud groan sounded in the air. Sokka turned, and looked up. Appa was descending toward the camp.

"Oh, this can't be good news," Sokka muttered. He ran to where Appa was settling onto the ground. "Aang! What happened? Did you master the Avatar State?" he asked. Aang's hard glare was all the answer Sokka needed.

"Everybody in Ba Sing Se is in trouble," Aang said. Sokka looked back at the men scrambling to preparedness. Hakoda came out of that mess, and looked to Sokka and Aang. He glanced away for a moment, then moved to his son.

"You do what you have to, my son. There's never a shortage of battles," Hakoda said. He pulled Sokka into another tight hug, then looked up at Aang. A wordless exchange passed between the Chief and the Avatar, and then Sokka climbed up into the saddle.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help," Sokka said.

"Don't be sorry," Hakoda said up to him. "I've never been more proud of anything you've ever done. There'll always be other times to knock some Fire Nation heads. I've never doubted your worth as a warrior, son. Why do you think I left you to protect the village?"

Sokka felt tears forming in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. "Goodbye, Dad," he said.

"It's only goodbye if you don't come back," Hakoda said. And then, Appa lifted into the air. Sokka turned to Aang, who flew like a man possessed.

"What happened at the temple?" Sokka asked.

"Katara's in danger, and I'm in love with her," he said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"...what?"

* * *

"And then, I flicked him out of the ring into his cronies like a chump!" Toph burst out laughing, slamming her hands onto the table. Iroh was pleased to see her this way, like she was when he first saw her, sneaking wherever it was she was going inside a stolen box. Full of fire and life. Confident. Iroh had an easy smile on his face. The day was pretty much done. The customers had slowed to a barest trickle.

"If I had known you would have such spectacular adventures when I first met you, I would have warned you about Princess Azula," Iroh said, rubbing his beard. "She has a dangerous temper, as I'm sure you found out."

"Yeah, well, I've kicked her ass, too," Toph said. "Whupped her out at the drill and sent her running. Oh, that was _awesome_," she grinned. Iroh chuckled at her. The world was very lucky that this girl didn't yet know the many pleasures of alcohol and sex, otherwise, she would be driving people into the ground. Perhaps literally. Still, Iroh knew enough to know that one setback wouldn't straighten out Azula's thirst for power.

"You should come by again, my young friend," Iroh said. "We can have tea and talk about other things. I think you might like to hear some of _my_ stories."

"You know, I think I just might," Toph said. She slapped down a gold piece. "I'll see y'all later."

Iroh smiled at the girl as she left, strutting as confident as a peacock lion. He got up, heading out into the main room. Zuko was leaning against the wall, not looking at anything. Iroh didn't like the way Zuko acted since he awoke from his fevered sleep. It worried him. "Nephew, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Zuko said, but Iroh didn't believe him. Iroh had seen many kinds of 'fine', but Zuko was none of them. "It's around closing time."

"It is that, Nephew," he said. He snuffed out the lantern over the counter, and stood by the door to turn away new customers for the evening. They could always come back in the morning. As he was waiting for the last tea aficionados to leave, a man in the green and gold livery of the Earth King approached. He looked at Iroh.

"Are you Mushi, the proprietor of this establishment?" the messenger asked. Iroh nodded. The messenger handed over a scroll. "The Earth King bids you welcome."

Iroh opened the scroll, looking it over. It was the best news since Han left a message for him telling Iroh that the Dai Li now had no official record of he or Zuko ever having been in the city. He turned back to his nephew. "Great news, Nephew," Iroh said. "I almost can't believe it! We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King himself!"

Zuko stared at him, then let out a quiet sigh. "How great for you," he said, taking a broom and beginning to sweep out the shop. Iroh's elation curdled. All of the joys in the world were falling aside. Iroh moved to Zuko's side and took the broom away.

"Zuko, what happened to you?" Iroh asked. "What did you see in your dreams?"

Zuko looked up at him, his eyes almost as dead as those of the poor, unfortunate women that Iroh saw in that horrible complex under Lake Laogai. "That I'm going to have to live with a lot less."

"_Don't talk like that,_" Iroh said in Yqanuac. "_I said once that I knew you were going to be Fire Lord. I did not make that pronouncement lightly._"

"Then maybe I don't share your faith," Zuko said. "Maybe I just don't care what happens anymore. If you want to sweep, be my guest. I'm going back to the apartment."

Iroh watched as Zuko walked out the door, and vanished into the streets. Iroh couldn't help but feel like he was failing.

* * *

The Earth King walked around his throne room. "Bosco! Where are you hiding!" he called. It wasn't like Bosco to hide from him. Usually, he was right there, sleeping at his foot, or nibbling on some scraps that had been left for him. But at the moment, his prized pet and friend was nowhere to be seen. The Earth King had been looking for his bear all morning and into the afternoon. Kuei sighed, moving back to his throne. It had already been a long day, and this was only the most recent of his problems. He sat back down in his chair, moping.

There hadn't been any word from the generals since yesterday. He still waited on their plan for an invasion. It felt like people were just going out of their way to avoid him. He shifted in his seat. It was terribly uncomfortable. Somebody would have to get him a new pillow. He stood, and paused as he heard a footstep beside the throne. He turned, and a Dai Li agent stared forward. "Have you seen Bosco?" Kuei asked.

"I doubt he has," Long Feng's voice came from behind Kuei. Kuei's eyes went wide, and he tried to cry out. But he felt something enter his back, cutting off his breath. "I have suffered long enough under your incompetence, Kuei. I ruled when you were a child, and you _remained_ a child. I will not see Ba Sing Se crumble because of you."

Kuei couldn't speak. He felt a force throw him back into his seat, and he looked down. Around a green and gold pillow, red began to flow. Bosco, he thought. Run away. Please. Kuei's eyes drifted shut.

Thus ended the rule of the 52nd Earth King at Ba Sing Se.

* * *

_Yes, that last section is a bit forward in the chronology of the next chapter. Confused? Leave a review._


	20. Avatar Aang

**Alright. I take it back. This is the longest chapter in this book. But then again, how could it not be? It seems to me that I'm making the fights a lot harder for our friends and humble protagonists, a trend that moves forward into Children of Fire. And it's fitting, because these people are powerful as hell. Give them a good fight, would ya'?**

**This is not the last chapter of the 'book'. Trust me, there's a bit more to come. But that said, y'all will have to have faith that the things I put into motion (particularly involving Zuko) all have purpose and aren't just there to go 'beyond the impossible' for its own sake. There was a reason Zuko lost his fire when he came to Ba Sing Se, and a reason he momentarily got it back in Lake Laogai. And when he gets it back for good, he gets it back big.**

**I do believe I managed to capture Azula's essence in the 'throne speach', which is good, because she's at that point as magnificent as she's ever going to be. Characterization marches on, as they say. And finally, much as it suited her character to blast Aang in the back, I didn't agree that it would have locked his seventh chakra. You have to choose attatchment to lock it, not get backstabbed. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Welcome to the penultimate chapter.**

* * *

Azula had changed out of her Kyoshi Warrior outfit. Probably because it wasn't fooling anybody anymore. Lacking for anything else appropriate to wear, she wore a woman's Dai Li uniform, save for replacing the conical hat for a green ribbon. Ty Lee thought it was a good look for her. Less deadly and threatening, more cute. Azula walked at the head of a legion of Dai Li agents.

"Tonight is a night of destiny," Azula said. "Your king has cast you aside, despite your centuries of loyal service. He has imprisoned your leader, and I have little doubt that he intends to disband your storied organization, and hunt you down like dogs. If you want to avoid this fate, then tonight must be a night of knives."

Azula moved down the line. "As we speak, the Council of Five is plotting your destruction. Long Feng saw this coming, and they cast him into prison for it. Your continued existence depends on striking swiftly, efficiently, and without hesitation. Seizing power has become a matter of life and death. Your targets must all fall at once; if news of one going down leaks out, the others will go to ground, and this coup will be stillborn."

Azula stopped, standing at the center of the legion. "Long Feng has placed me in command for the duration of the coup. If you act admirably, he will reward you. If you act poorly, _I_ will punish you. And If I smell even the slightest hint of disloyalty, of hesitation, of weakness," Azula came to a stop near a disinterested looking man with one eye, "I will burn you to ashes where you stand. Get to work!"

The Dai Li began to file away, and Azula walked back up to her stalwart companions. "That was a great speech, Azula," Ty Lee said. "It was inspiring and commanding... but did it need to be so scary?"

Mai chuckled lightly. "Yeah, that one guy look like he was going to pee his pants."

"It's a talent," Azula said, inspecting her nails. "The divine right to rule. Get ready. We overthrow the Earth King tonight."

* * *

"I can't believe we are walking the halls of the Royal Palace at Ba Sing Se," Iroh said happily. Zuko rolled his eyes. "Once, I thought it was my destiny to walk these halls as a conqueror, but now, I am walking as an invited guest. To serve the King tea! Isn't destiny a funny thing?"

"Right. Funny," Zuko said. Iroh gave him a glance.

"You should be more upbeat, Nephew. Good things are happening to us. Why must you be so glum?"

Zuko just looked away, and lugged the serving supplies Iroh had him bring. Destiny _was_ a funny thing. And it turned out, Zuko didn't have one. He'd always thought that he was destined for great things, overcoming all adversity. But recently, he'd been shown just how juvenile that sort of thinking was. To the universe, he was nobody. He walked through the halls of the Royal Palace, not even really registering much of it. When he finally reached the serving room, Zuko was already tired. He'd waken up tired; he usually fell asleep exhausted.

Iroh happily started setting up the service, singing some hokey song about 'the girls of Ba Sing Se' as he did so. Zuko just did his best to stay out of the way. He didn't even know why he was here. Oh, right. His name was on an invitation. His false name. The name he might as well get used to answering to. Iroh finished the setting, and seated himself, grinning.

Time began to stretch out as the sun began to rise. "Isn't it strange that the King would want tea first thing in the morning?" Zuko asked. Something about this didn't seem right.

"Maybe he wants some vigor to go through his day," Iroh said. Zuko didn't believe it. He set his jaw, looking out the door and down the hall. Nothing. The silence began to stretch out.

"We're on time," Zuko said. "He's late."

"Maybe he overslept," Iroh offered. Zuko closed the door and began to scowl at the tea service. Something was definitely wrong. If there was one thing that living the way he had for so long had taught him, it was when something was about to blow up in his face. He got that distinct impression right now. There was a sound, almost inaudible even to Zuko's keen hearing, just outside the door. Zuko turned, and Dai Li began to sedately walk through the door, filing into the room and taking places around the walls. Zuko turned to Iroh, who sighed, weary.

"This is a trap," Iroh said.

"You always were one to recognize a trap once you were already caught in it," Azula's voice came from the doorway. "I _cannot_ understand how somebody credited with bringing down the Walls of Ba Sing Se could be so easily tricked. Perhaps you've grown enfeebled in your old age; I don't see any Dragon of the West before me."

"What are you doing here, Niece?" Iroh said calmly. Zuko didn't understand why Iroh wasn't in a state of panic. Zuko certainly was. Faced with his sister and a room full of Dai Li without any reliable firebending? It was a daunting prospect.

"What you failed to do," Azula said. "The Council of Five is being captured. Long Feng is dealing with the Earth King even as we speak. And you? You're now prisoners of the Fire Nation. The treacherous General and the Dark Prince. What a coup this has been. I trust you know of the Dai Li? They might be earthbenders, but they've got an attitude which is just _so_ firebender. I love it."

Iroh got a smirk on his face. It was, in a lot of ways, similar to the one which Azula frequently wore. A glance was shared between nephew and uncle. "Very well. Would you like some tea?" Iroh asked, taking a cup for himself and standing.

"You've probably poisoned it," Azula said, her brow drawing down.

"If you knew anything about me, you'd know I would _never_ poison tea," Iroh said, taking a sip. "Have you ever wondered why they call me the Dragon of the West?"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Spare me the meandering anecdote."

Iroh shook his head. "No, not really an anecdote. More like a demonstration," Iroh said. Zuko leapt to Iroh's back as he breathed out, sending a scorching wall of fire sweeping around the room. The Dai Li cried out in alarm, diving to the ground or else being burnt to a crisp. Even Azula was driven back by the blaze's intensity. The Dai Li still controlled the door. Iroh just turned and made a new one, breaking down a wall.

Iroh and Zuko fled through this side room and out into the hallway. The Dai Li were in hot pursuit until Iroh turned and sent out a rolling wall of fire which swept the hall. The Dai Li had a choice of flight or to burn. They chose to flee. Iroh kept running, an impressive feat, considering he didn't look the type who could keep up that sort of pace, until he reached an exterior wall. Iroh blasted it down, then took a flying leap. Zuko moved to the hole.

Iroh had crashed down along a tree, and rubbed his back as he got to his feet. "Come, Prince Zuko! We have to go!"

Zuko scowled. "No," He said. "I'm done running. This ends now," Zuko turned away from the hole and dropped into a firebending stance, even knowing it probably wouldn't save him. He waited. The halls were quiet, only the soft clacking of the Dai Li's stone shoes filtering toward him. Then, there was a different noise. Slippers? Something was coming. He staked his life on it.

A green and black streak shot out of one of the rooms nearby. Zuko tried to intercept it with flame, but nothing happened. Instead, he got tackled and driven back a couple of steps. "_ZUKO!_" an excited call came. Zuko leaned back at the smiling girl with the brown braid and bizarre face paint clinging to him. "_Agni's fire, you look so old!_"

"_People do that when they age,_" Zuko said, trying to worm his way out of this excited little woman's grasp. She finally released him, looking him up and down. She broke out into a broad grin. Zuko finally realized who she was. It was Ty Lee. Ty Lee in weird makeup, but Ty Lee nonetheless.

"_Oh, Mai is going to be so happy when she learns you're here,_" Ty Lee practically danced in the spot. "_Everybody's back together again!_"

Zuko's jaw dropped. "_Mai is here?_" he asked. Then he realized, of course she's here. Azula's here, and she and Mai were always thick as thieves.

Azula finally walked around the corner, her face an expressionless mask. When she saw Ty Lee bouncing around like a schoolgirl, though, it became a bit darker. "Ty Lee, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"I was saying hello to Zuko!" Ty Lee replied, quite pleased. The Dai Li began to file around Azula again. Ty Lee then got a somewhat hang-dog expression on her face. "Oh. Right. Sorry, Azula."

"Why am I not surprised you stayed behind?" Azula said. "You always were pig headed. What are you going to do, Zuzu? Hold me off while your Uncle takes the coward's route, as he always has? Or are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai, like I know you've wanted to for all these years?"

Zuko's face grew grim. He knew he wouldn't win. "Yes. I challenge you."

Azula calmly inspected her nails. "Not interested. Ty Lee? What are you waiting for?"

Ty Lee turned to Zuko. "I'm sorry, Zuko. You're not going to like this."

"I'm not going to like what?" Zuko asked. She answered him by taking a step closer, and punching him a few times with blinding speed. His legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the floor, powerless.

"General Iroh has gotten away, Princess Azula," one of the Dai Li said.

"So, find him," Azula said, annoyed.

"What about the Dark Prince?"

"Put him with the girl," Azula said. He could almost hear the smirk appearing on her face. "I think she and dum-dum here are going to get along just... fine..."

* * *

Aang landed Appa right in front of the house, leaping off and pounding on the door so hard that it didn't need earthbending to rattle the flagstones. Sokka quickly joined him. The two shared a look. "Something's wrong!" Aang said.

"Probably," Sokka agreed. He slid open the door, leveling his machete in front of him. Ahead of them, a drowsy looking Toph was wandering around in her pajamas. She turned and looked at them, a bit confused.

"Hello to you, too," she said. "That didn't take very long, did it, Twinkletoes?"

"Where's Katara? Did she come back?" Aang asked. Toph shrugged.

"I don't know. I came back here pretty late last night, and I just woke up. She might have come back when I was asleep," she leaned over, picking something out of her ear and hurling it away. "What's got the two of you in a panic?"

"Katara's in trouble!" Aang said. Toph blinked at him.

"So it must be Monday," Toph said nonchalantly. She stopped, turning to Sokka. "Oh, you're serious, aren't you?"

"Deadly," Sokka confirmed. He turned to Aang. "Was there anything that your Avatar powers said that could tell us where she is?"

"No. It wasn't a vision, it was more like a message," Aang said, rubbing his head. "Ugh! Toph, you're _right_. This is the _worst city ever_!"

Toph turned. "Hey, we've got company," she said. Everybody turned to the door, which began to rattle as somebody knocked on it. She broke out in a grin. "I know who it is, too!"

Toph opened the door, and staring into the room with eyes like burnished gold was General Iroh. Sokka took a step backward, brandishing machete and boomerang, while Aang just gave a fit of surprise. Toph walked forward and gave the old man a hug! "What are you doing _here_?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Aang and Sokka corrected. Sokka continued. "How could you possibly know this guy?"

"When I got roasted by Azula, he saved my life. Gave me some medicine, some tea, and some good advice," Toph said. She frowned. "But they've got a point. What are you doin' here, Old Guy?"

"Azula is in the process of overthrowing the government," Iroh said.

"She must have Katara," Aang said.

"She has also taken my nephew," Iroh added. Aang glanced away, then turned back to Iroh.

"Fine. Then we'll work together to rescue Katara and Zuko," Aang said.

Toph frowned. "Angry Jerk is the Dark Prince?" she asked, sounding a bit baffled.

"Wait, you've lost me at 'rescuing Zuko'," Sokka said. Iroh shook his head.

"You must believe me when I say that he has good inside him."

"Well maybe that's not enough!" Sokka shouted. "Maybe we can leave him until the good's outside him as well!"

"Sokka, stop panicking. Angry Jerk is harmless. Mopey, and a bit melancholy, but harmless," Toph said.

"That's because he didn't spend a year trying to kill _you_," Sokka muttered, crossing his arms. "And how would we even know where to find her? Walk up to her in the Palace and ask her nicely?"

Toph tipped her head, then punched out. The front wall of the house exploded into the streets, and a man in green robes recoiled from it. She bent, and the man was dragged toward them, his lower body quickly being embedded in the earth. He didn't look too angered by his treatment, however. He looked up at them. At Iroh, actually. "The War has come to Ba Sing Se," he said evenly.

"Release him," Iroh said. "He is an agent of somebody I think I can trust."

"But he's..." Iroh gave Sokka a glare, and he threw up his hands. "Fine."

Toph stamped, and the man popped back up. He nodded, and handed Iroh a scroll, before walking away. Sokka tried to peek over Iroh's shoulder, but saw it was written in a cypher. "What does it say?" Aang asked.

"It says that the prisoners are being held in the Undercity, deep beneath the palace," he said, tucking the scroll into his sleeve. Sokka didn't buy it. There was a lot more writing on the scroll to have just said that. He looked at the people behind him. "Come on. Don't you want to rescue your friend?"

* * *

Long Feng stood before the locked door as it was swung open. "The time has come," the agent said. "Our forces are in the process of securing all of the Council of Five."

"Very good. And the Fire Nation Princess? Has she performed her role in this?" Long Feng asked, stepping to his 'freedom'.

"Yeah. She's really taken charge," the agent admitted. "I mean, she's terrifying and inspirational at the same time. It's really something."

Long Feng made a note to remember this agent's... mixed loyalties. But for now, he had a king to usurp. He tapped the blade at his side. _Never_ give up without a fight. Fitting words.

* * *

Katara continued to pace around the cave. It was humiliating. She'd been fooled so easily. She didn't even get one good attack out before the circus freak paralyzed her. She kicked one of the faintly glowing crystals which were the only source of light. She regretted it, because it hurt her foot. A rumbling came from the other side of the chamber, and she dropped into a stance, before remembering that she didn't have any water to bend. Not any water that wasn't a bit... bloody... anyway.

"You've got company," a voice said from the darkness, and then, somebody was thrown bodily down the hole, landing hard on the ground. He groaned, rolling over onto his side, his back to her. "Have fun, you two..."

Katara moved forward cautiously, but when he rolled back over, she almost leapt out of her skin. "You!" she shouted. "What are you doing here? Why would they throw you in... Oh, I get it. This is another one of your plans to capture the Avatar. When he comes here to rescue me, you'll finally have him in your clutches!"

Zuko looked up at her from the ground, and shook his head. "Yeah. Because all my plans involve me getting beaten to a pulp_ at the beginning_," he muttered. Katara scowled.

"Zuko, you're a horrible person. Why are you always following us? Hounding us? Never giving us a moment of rest or peace?"

"I didn't come here for you!" he shouted back, slowly pulling himself to a sit. "Until a few days ago, I didn't even know you were in Ba Sing Se!"

"You're lying. Just like you always do. You'd do anything to capture Aang. Why?" she asked. "Why are you so desperate to destroy the last hope our world has for peace? Oh, wait, I know why. It's in your blood. You're the Fire Lord's son, and all that they ever do is spread destruction and pain."

Zuko frowned, finally standing, holding his side. He did look quite battered, but his eyes looked most hurt of all. Like he was dying. "You don't know anything about me," he said, quietly.

"Do I? I know what your family has done," Katara shouted. "I know what your people have done! Killing the moon and sea spirits! Bringing war to every place on the world! You have no idea what this war took from us. From me!" she turned, not willing to show Zuko her tears of rage and sadness. Her voice quavered when she continued. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."

"It took mine, too," Zuko said, quietly. He walked toward her, eventually standing next to her and not looking at her. "I thought I had a destiny. That I could regain my honor and be the Prince that Uncle always thought I could be. But I don't. I have no destiny. All I have is tomorrow, and tomorrow after that. I don't belong anywhere."

Katara tried to stay angry. She wanted to, more than anything, but when she turned, she could see that devastated look on Zuko's face. He wasn't trying to gain sympathy. He believed it. She turned away. What had this war made of them? To turn children in to soldiers, to turn strangers into enemies. He was tired. And so was she. In silence, but not alone, two child soldiers remembered their lost mothers.

* * *

Toph brushed her hands, and pulled her hair back. She decided to follow everybody without even changing out of her pajamas, opting only to stuff a few things into her pockets and wrap those chains around her arms before they began to search. "Yup. There's a city down there, and it's deep," she said. She thrust out her hands, and an oblique hole began to slope downward.

"So this is it," Sokka said. "Aang, you and Iroh can go rescue the Angry Jerk, no offense..."

"None taken," Iroh said with a shrug.

"...while me and Toph go see if we can stop this coup," he finished. Aang smiled, unsteadily. For some reason, he didn't feel the same trepidation around Iroh that he felt around others from that family, but it was still an unusual partnership. Come to think of it, the last time they'd had a civil conversation, such as it was, was at the North Pole, immediately before Aang lost control of his anger and went berserk. Iroh began to walk down the hole, igniting a small fire in his palm.

"So," Aang said uncomfortably. "I hear you give good advice. And great tea."

"Wisdom and experience are vital to both," Iroh said with a nod. "What troubles your mind, young Avatar?"

"Well, I didn't tell anybody back there, but when I went to master the Avatar State, I learned that the only way I could do it was by giving up the people I cared about," Aang said, earthbending and extending the tunnel further downward.

"And what did you choose?" Iroh asked, walking calmly.

"How could I give up the people I love?" Aang asked. Iroh shrugged.

"Understanding the price which comes with power is one of the greatest clarities of vision that one can ever have. I have often found that perfection and power are overrated; I cannot fault you for choosing happiness and prosperity. It is the choice that I made many years ago, and I stand by to this day."

"Then how come I feel like I'm betraying my destiny?" Aang asked.

"Destiny exists. It doesn't care whether you follow it or not. It is simply a path," Iroh said, as Aang bent the tunnel deeper still. "You can walk along the path, or you can step into the woods, and make your own. It might be harder. There could be dangers involved you wouldn't find on the safety of the path, but in the end, you will end up in a place nobody could have seen from the safety of the road. It is like this tunnel. You might not be able to see the light at the end of it, but as long as you keep walking, you will eventually come to a better place."

Aang smiled. "Wow. Toph was right. You really do give good advice."

"You should try some of my tea sometime," Iroh said with a chuckle. Aang laughed, and then bent again, moving deeper and deeper under the palace.

* * *

Sokka and Toph ran through the hallways, trying to get to the King's chamber. Sokka didn't like the way that Aang suddenly glommed onto his sister, but if it meant he would keep her safe, then all power to him. Today just wasn't sitting well with him, and as the afternoon went on, it had begun to positively chafe. Toph grabbed him and yanked him to a stop, pulling him around a corner.

"What is it?" Sokka asked. Toph made a shushing motion, and pointed. Sokka peered around the corner, and his eyes went wide when he saw a clutch of Dai Li hauling away General Sung, his arms bound in metal chains and his mouth gagged. "Tui La, the coup is happening right now! We need to warn the Earth King."

"Damn tootin', Sparky," Toph said. They were off again, Toph acting as a set of eyes for when Sokka couldn't. His heart was hammering in his chest when he finally reached the great doors, which due to their ongoing repair still stood open. Kuei was sitting in his throne. The two of them ran forward, skidding to a stop near the center of the room.

"Earth King Kuei!" Sokka shouted. "Thank goodness we're on time!"

Kuei was silent. Sokka took another step forward. "Kuei, the Dai Li have betrayed you. They're trying to take your throne. Now!" Sokka moved forward again. Kuei was still. Toph took a couple of steps forward and grabbed Sokka's arm. "What's going on?"

"Sokka," Toph said, her face set and hard. "His heart's not beating."

Sokka's eyes went wide. Walking around the throne came Long Feng, the gash on his face stitched and his arm no longer in a sling. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se," Long Feng said. He thrust forward his arms, and the throne tipped, hurling Kuei's lifeless form onto the stone in front of Sokka. There was a stab wound in the center of his back, Sokka could see. "Welcome to my city, my nation."

"You won't get away with this!" Toph said.

"Toph," Sokka said, taking a step back. "I think he already has," Dai Li began to file into the room, flanking the throne which stood empty under the golden badgermole motif. "We need to run!"

"The Hell you say!" Toph said, but Sokka just grabbed her around the waist and started to run. "Put me down! I'm gonna kick his ass!"

Toph must not have really wanted to, because Sokka made it out of the throne room before she made him drop her. When he did, she turned, grabbed the heavy door which stood open, and slammed it closed, before twisting the metal together into a knot. She then slumped a moment. "The Earth King is dead," she said. She looked up at Sokka. Even he could tell that she was confused, hurt. Lost. But just as quickly as that look came, it vanished. "Get your butt in gear, Loverboy. We're not out of the Palace, yet."

Sokka didn't need to be told twice. He ran, and Toph ran with him. He didn't even look, knowing that the Dai Li where just about everywhere. Toph occasionally paused, dealing with a group of them with her own, superior earthbending, before the two of them continued running. A giggle of laughter was all the warning Sokka got, before he dropped into a slide. Ty Lee, who had been tackling for Sokka's chest, flew over him, looking surprised. She rolled to her feet. She was wearing the armor and face-paint of a Kyoshi Warrior. "You're getting better!" she cheerfully proclaimed. A whistle of knives pulled Toph's attention, and she blocked them with a hunk of the floor. Mai was still far, and approaching warily.

"How could you do this?" Sokka asked. Ty Lee's face went from amusement to confusion. "How could you kill the Earth King?"

Her expression became one of doubt, then horror. "The Earth King's dead?" she asked, her voice small. "Who did it?"

"Long Feng," Toph said, still prepared to counter something. Ty Lee turned to Mai.

"_Long Feng is going to betray Azula!_" she shouted. "_We have to help her!_"

Mai arched a brow, then drooped a bit, putting the knives back up her sleeves. Ty Lee ran off down a side passage, and Mai just shook her head at the two companions of the Avatar. "_Will this day never end?_" she complained flatly, then moved after the acrobat. Toph and Sokka shared a glance, then a shrug. They'd definitely expected a much harder fight. A rumble sounded, and part of the hallway became walled off.

"The Dai Li are coming," Toph said. "I hope you're as good at fighting Earthbenders as you are at dancing with Sugarqueen back there."

"You and me both, Toph."

* * *

Ty Lee ran, knowing that a friend's life depended on it. She knew the plan, Azula's plan. Earth King Kuei was supposed to be a prisoner, not a casualty. This was supposed to be a _bloodless_ coup! Azula's plan had been _perfect_! That darned Long Feng was going to get rid of her, too, Ty Lee just knew it. She came to a skidding halt in the edge of the throne room. Azula was walking up the center, the great electrum doors smoking and ruined behind her. She came to a halt at the foot of the dais, staring upward at Long Feng. She paused to look back at Kuei's corpse.

"This wasn't part of the plan," she said acidicly. Ty Lee moved closer to her friend, and Mai moved to Azula's other side. Long Feng, standing next to the throne, smiled.

"It wasn't part of _your_ plan," Long Feng said. He descended several steps. "But this is the part of _my_ plan where I double cross you and have you executed as an enemy of the state. Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation Princess," There was silence and stillness in the room. The many green robed men and women just stood in their places. "Didn't you hear me? Arrest her!"

Azula's mask slipped, and a triumphant smirk swelled across her face. She began to walk up the stairs, her arms in her sleeves. "They won't," she said, confidently. "Because they don't know who's going to win today," she stood, staring up at Long Feng at his level. "They know that at the end of today, _one _of us is going to be sitting on that chair, and the other, bowing before it. But they don't know which. And they don't want to side with a loser."

Azula walked past Long Feng, an ran her hand up the arm of the throne. "The Dai Li aren't stupid. They know where their best interests lie. They will side with whomever can claim absolute power. And you know who that is, as well as I do, Long Feng," Azula's smile began to curl. Confident, beautiful, and dangerous, like an exotic snake. "You claim to know who I am? Well, I know you, too. You made a mistake when you put me in charge of the Dai Li, because it meant you put me in charge of the most dangerous thing in the world: Information. And there is so much information on you. Information you thought you hid. You rose from nothing, a common peasant. You had to cheat and lie and murder your way to the top, to your position of Grand Secretariat. You ruled from the shadows with an iron fist. But there's a problem with ruling from the shadows, Long Feng," Azula reached down and threw the cushion onto the floor, and casually incinerated it. Ty Lee and Mai joined Azula on the dais. "Fire drives the shadows away."

She walked around the throne, trailing her fingers along its smooth stone. "The Divine Right to rule is not something you can ever earn, Long Feng; it is _power_. It is something you're _born_ with. Something _I_ was born with," Azula came to a stop, in front of the throne, looking down at Long Feng. "You've turned cunning and mercilessness into rank and privilege, and I can respect that. But it wasn't enough. It will never be enough," Azula's smile disappeared, and she sat herself upon the throne, crossing her legs, careless of what blood still remained on the seat. "Now. Bow before your new master, Long Feng."

Long Feng was sweating, and he looked away. "You've beaten me," he said, moving down to the bottom of the steps. He turned back, staring up at Azula. His gaze dropped to the floor, and he bowed down. "You've beaten me at my own game."

Azula laughed, then, strange and light in the pall of dread which filled the room. "I did no such thing," she said. Her eyes burned bright, "because you were never even a player."

* * *

Katara was confused. She _wanted_ to hate Zuko. But looking at this broken, beaten man, she knew she couldn't. He was alone and imprisoned and about to suffer more than Katara was capable of inflicting on him. At the hands of his sister, no less. She'd never quite grasped that. How could he have possibly grown up normal, with _Azula_ for a sister? In a way, he was like a dark reflection of Katara.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," Katara said. Zuko just turned away. "It's just that I've gotten so used to hating you. Whenever I thought about the enemy, the enemy was you. The enemy's face was your face."

"My face," Zuko whispered, touching the scar on his left eye. He sighed. "I used to think this thing marked me. Was a symbol of my destiny, the banished prince bound to bring down the Avatar. The Dark Prince. But it's an empty symbol. People will always know me for it, even though it doesn't _mean_ anything."

"That might not be the case," Katara said. She reached down her dress and pulled up the phial which Yugoda had given her all those months ago. It looked like a medallion, which was probably why Azula hadn't taken it from her. "I can heal people's injuries, and this water is said to have special properties."

"It's a scar," Zuko said, bitterly. "It's already as healed as its going to get."

Katara moved to him, leaning down next to him. She reached out, and pressed her fingers against his scar. He twitched, like he wanted to pull away. It felt leathery and stiff. "I don't know if it would even work, but it couldn't hurt to try..."

Zuko just sighed, and didn't move. A silent acceptance of her offer. She prepared to snap the phial, but a loud rumble sounded. The stone gave way, tumbling into the room. Katara stood and turned, her eyes growing wide when she saw the orange robes fluttering.

"Aang!" she cried, running to him. He intercepted her, and twirled her in an embrace probably powered by airbending. She pushed him to arm's length. "Aang, you need to go! I'm a trap!"

"Uncle! What are you doing with him?" Zuko shouted, pointing at Aang. She expected anger, but the look on his face was more like... hunger. Iroh was standing beside Zuko, his arm on the Prince's shoulder. Aang just shot a glance over his shoulder.

"Saving your life, that's what," Aang said, snarkily. He turned back to Katara. He had a look in his eyes like he wanted to say so much to her, but knew he didn't have the time. Instead, he just smiled, and nodded toward the passage. "If Azula is watching us, and she probably is, then we need to go."

Katara moved to the passage, sparing only one last glance to the Dark Prince, who still looked toward her, that hunger in his eyes. Then, she left, leaving him to probably the only real family Zuko had ever had.

* * *

Zuko watched as the Avatar and his waterbending girlfriend left. He _did not_ envy them. And if he told himself that enough times, he might start to believe it. Iroh turned Zuko to face him. "Prince Zuko, we need to talk," he said. He leaned to the hole the Avatar had made and shouted up it. "Go and help your friends. We'll catch up to you!"

"Uncle, why are you doing this?"

"Zuko, when I look at you, I see everything that I have ever hoped for," Iroh said. "When I first joined you in your quest to find the Avatar, you were always so angry, so brash and impatient. But you are a different man, now. And you stand at the crossroads of your destiny. I can only hope and pray that you chose right. That you choose _good_."

Zuko shook his head. "Uncle, I don't have any dest–" Zuko was interrupted when a hail of crystals began to claw up from the ground, entombing Iroh. Zuko let out a bellow of alarm, and spun, his hands clawing for fire he knew wasn't there. A pair of Dai Li skidded down the ramp he'd been cast down, and Azula was at their head. He cast out a hand. "Release him at once!" he shouted.

Azula shook her head, condescendingly. "I expected this sort of treason from your Uncle, but from you? You might be many things, Zuzu, but you are not a traitor. Are you?" she smirked. "It's not too late, you know. You can still redeem yourself."

"The kind of redemption she offers carries too high a price!" Iroh shouted from his crystal cage. Azula gave a glance to the Dai Li, and the prison shrunk, just a little bit, crushing in on Iroh. Zuko's eyes went wide.

"Why don't you let him decide for himself, for once?" Azula asked. She turned back to him, and her tones became soft. "Zuko, I've planned out every moment of this day. And the only way that it will end in victory is if you join me. Together, we can cast down this feeble city, end the resistance to our nation's rule. You can earn your honor back. Father's love. You will have everything you ever wanted."

"Zuko, no!" Iroh gasped, from his prison. "I'm begging you. Look inside yourself, and find what it is that _you_ need! What you _truly_ want!"

Azula turned and walked toward the exit. "You are free to chose," she said. But she stopped, and turned back. "But I think I should tell you. When the day is done, victorious or not, I am leaving. And Mai will be coming with me. Back home, to the Fire Nation. I strongly doubt she will ever willingly come to this Agni-forsaken continent ever again."

"You cannot bribe him with friendships!" Iroh said.

"Perhaps not. But I also told Jeong Jeong that I would be returning with _one_ prisoner," Azula said. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at Zuko. "Which means, either you can go home as a champion, and Iroh a prisoner, or you can be prisoner, and Uncle..." she smirked, and walked away. Zuko fell to his knees. That fire was tearing at his heart. It felt like it was going to consume him with every breath he took. He looked at his uncle. There was only one way to save him. He looked at the path, which his sister walked. The only way he would ever have the woman he loved was that way. And it had purpose. A goal. That thing which he'd lacked so long that it had begun to hollow him out. He rose, and tore open his coat and shirt, letting them slide to the floor. Did Zuko perhaps have a destiny, after all?

* * *

Aang and Katara erupted into the plaza, such as it was. It was bathed in an ambient green light, which reflected off of the springs the water bubbled up and away from. "We're almost back to the surface," Aang said. He looked for his tunnel. When he found it, he staggered to a stop. It had been collapsed.

"Aang! Look out!" Katara shouted, and Aang was pushed aside. A bolt of blue fire shot past him, _exploding_ when it hit. Aang turned, and watched as Azula smirked at him from her low, elegant firebending form, smoke still curling from her two outthrust fingers. Katara began to pull at the water, a stance which Aang recognized as a water whip. What astounded Aang was the amount of water she used. The pool was briefly emptied, before more water began to trickle up, and Katara attacked with overwhelming force. It might have been the full moon, but it wasn't even night yet.

Katara spun and whirled, the whip becoming a wave which crested, hurling dozens of long, sharp icicles at Azula. Azula cast out her hands and a broad wave of blue flame evaporated them. But the waterbender hadn't even begun to attack. She pulled again, and every drop of the water in the room, it seemed like, formed a column which swirled around her before smashing Azula to the ground. As Azula slid, she swung her arms around, then down into the column of water, and a howl began to sound as blue flame shot along the water, instantly rendering it to steam. Aang turned, his eyes closed. He could feel water through the earth. It was close, a far greater quantity than trickled up. He punched out, earthbending a release. Water began to surge into the room, frigidly cold around Aang's ankles. The steam was still clearing. Aang waited, and listened.

"Where is she?" Katara asked. Aang's eyes snapped open as he heard the bang of flares being hurled toward him, cutting through the steam from on high. He and Katara both bent the water into a shield which snuffed those fire bombs before they could detonate. Finally, Azula was in view, steadying her perch on an outcropping of stone. Aang smirked, and pulled at the stone, bending it down. Her eyes went wide, and she leapt clear an instant before she became swept down in the rubble. Azula blasted the floor between them with a huge blast of blue fire, puffing the water away, before landing with a roll. She glanced between Aang and Katara, a hand brandished at each, waiting for somebody to make the first move.

"You're not going to succeed," Aang said. "I will stop you."

"You always were one to talk big," Azula said, her face blank, but her tones hot and smoky. "It's such a shame you had to be born an Air Nomad. You could have been such an ally to us."

"He would never join your father. Nobody with a soul would," Katara said. Azula smirked. A blast of red flame landed nearby, searing away the water. Aang looked back. Walking into the room, from that path that lead down, was Zuko. He had abandoned his shirt and coat, and his eyes had a ravenous hunger in them. Almost to the point of madness. Aang's heart sank. He knew what was coming.

With a cry of rage, Zuko hurled a blast of flame at Aang, who had to bound away, snuffing it out. He direly missed his staff; it was the perfect instrument to channel air, but it would have gotten in his way down here. Azula turned her attention to Katara, and the two faced off, water against fire. Aang had his own concern; namely, a Zuko with more power than Aang had ever thought possible, trying to kill him. Zuko followed Aang around the room with fire blasts, some of which Aang avoided, others, deflected. But Zuko only seemed to grow more incensed with every miss, every near strike.

Aang landed on the ground, and whirled his arms, sending a column of air, much the same as he would have a column of fire. It struck Zuko, knocking him back. He was back up in a flash, his chest heaving. He twirled, as though emulating an airbending movement, and a vast cone of fire began to spread out toward Aang. Aang called up the water, snap freezing it into a wall of ice, which stopped the cone. Barely. Fighting on the ground wasn't doing Aang any favors. He needed the sky. And since he was in the cave, the next best thing was the roof.

Aang popped up a series of rocks, which he hurled at Zuko, but the last, he set a foot onto, then hurled upward. It catapulted him to the ceiling, where he bounded between green crystals. Aang spun, and punched through one of the fireblasts with one of his own, sending it down toward the prince. Zuko _caught_ it, twisting it around, and extending it into a long, coiling whip of pure flame. He began to strike at Aang, cutting at Aang's purchase and stability, until Aang just had to abandon his perch. "Katara! We need to get out of here!" he shouted.

Katara just nodded, and used a swell of water to freeze Azula in place for a moment, before reaching upward. She strained, her face constricting into an angry rictus, and then she surged down. At first, Aang didn't know what she was doing. Then, the ceiling began to crumble. Roots began to shoot downward, snapping into place like cables breaking in reverse, and hauling downward again. The faint green light was replaced by red, as a tree pulled its way down into the cave by its roots. Aang was in awe. Katara had just plantbent a banyan tree _down from the arboretum_. Katara retreated toward it as Azula blasted her way out of her brief prison, lashing out now not with water, but with roots and tree limbs, the banyan itself her weapon.

Aang looked down, and Zuko's rage was turned up at him. He let his whips fade, and put his fists both forward with a horrid roar. A blast of fire, every bit as electric blue as Azula's and popping like Combustion Man's death rays twirled up at Aang. Aang snapped off a part of an overhanging stalactite and hurled it down, causing the blast to hit rock instead of Avatar. There was no way. Zuko _should not_ have been that powerful. Aang dropped through the dust of the exploded stalactite and landed next to Katara. Both firebenders bore down on them, hurling bolt upon bolt of fire, which Aang and Katara were barely able to hold back. Suddenly, a new source of fire appeared, hurling at Zuko and Azula's backs. All eyes looked past, to where a battered, bloody Iroh was standing at the path down.

"Go! Flee! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Iroh shouted, and began to hurl fire at those who surrounded them all. Without a word of acceptance waited for, Aang scooped Katara up and bounded up the tree she'd brought, scaling the rough, uneven walls the tree's drop had left. Below, he could see Azula readying a bolt of lighting. Aang quickly earthbent the tunnel shut. It remained shut for about two seconds, which was when the lightning tore the plug apart.

"This is insane!" Aang said. "We can't win this!"

"Not down there," Katara said. They scaled quickly, and appeared into the light of the Arboretum. The banyan had almost brought the simulated creek down with it, but it flowed still. Aang looked around. Besides the many examples of topiary, men in green robes were waiting, already in their low, earthbending forms. Katara spun away, pulling the water from the creek into something that looked like her octopus form, but with dozens of arms, each as thick as a tree trunk. They slashed through the trees, and bludgeoned through the Dai Li whenever one dared come close. They did not dare long. Aang set his stance. This was not going to be an easy fight.

* * *

Sokka smashed a stone glove before it could latch onto his foot and bring him down. It wasn't easy. He might be able to face one Dai Li and win when he was bending his element – 'surprise' – but otherwise, he was vastly outclassed when it came to fighting benders. He dodged and weaved, staying close to Toph as she mowed her way forward. To call her a force of nature would probably be an insult. She was something supernatural.

Toph's fighting style was crude, but brutally effective. The chains that she had wrapped around her arms flowed between forms as she moved. A sickle to trip. A hammer to smash flat. A chain to snare and then back to a hammer to pound. Where she walked, Dai Li fell. "We're getting close to the garden," Toph shouted. "Find Appa!"

Sokka grunted his acknowledgment, before running forth under that barrage. The Dai Li didn't give him too much attention. There was one good thing about being the only non-bender in Team Avatar: Nobody paid him much attention when he really didn't want to get hit by something. He broke away from the melee and made for a window, diving out of it. He landed in an ornamental shrub, not the nicest landing he'd ever made, but he shook the stars from his eyes and got to his feet.

Ahead, Appa was beset by Dai Li. Appa wasn't chained, but the Dai Li looked like they were just wearing it down. Sokka didn't like the idea of that one bit. He ran forward, trying to figure out how he was going to outdo half a dozen earthbenders and make it to Appa. He looked at his boomerang and machete. Perhaps today was the day they got bloody. He was about to set at a run, when green and black landed next to Sokka. Ty Lee, her face paint mostly rubbed off, looked at him.

"You dropped this," she said, throwing a club at Sokka. He looked down. It was _his_ club, the one he'd lost on the drill. He looked back up at her. Her eyes were utterly conflicted. She didn't know what to do. Sokka put his machete away and picked up his club, giving it a few good swings.

"Which side?" Sokka asked. Ty Lee glanced away, but looked back at him, her face drawn into concentration and stubbornness.

"Everybody's," she said. It would have to do.

Sokka hurled the boomerang, and it beaned one of the Dai Li stoutly. Two others broke off from Appa and turned to the new threat. As much of a threat as Sokka really embodied. They earthbent at him, sending rocks and pillars surging toward him. Lacking a good way of battering through, he went around, keeping an uneven pace, trying to close distance. The boomerang came cutting back, and he caught it before hurling it again. One of the Dai Li lashed out with a stone glove, catching it in mid air. That wasn't good.

Another tried to stomp Sokka's feet into the ground, but Sokka was quick. He leapt over the hole that the agent almost snared him in. Sokka _was not_ going to be defeated by a crack in the dirt. Sokka grabbed his encased boomerang as he ran, and when another fist came at him, he smashed it with the glove encrusted boomerang, breaking the gloves apart. He was close. But he couldn't get past them without one of them taking his back. He did not want that.

And he didn't have to deal with it, either. A flash of black and green, and Ty Lee was behind them, striking their pressure points with stunning – literally – accuracy. "Go!" she shouted, before moving away, one last sad look over her shoulder before disappearing into the shrubberies. Sokka grinned, and made a run at Appa. The Dai Li tried to stop him, but he dove and slid under their stone binds, and clambered up Appa like the lemur who was huddled in the back of the saddle. Sokka grabbed the reins and gave a sharp tug. Appa spun round and smashed down on the ground with its tail, sending the Dai Li agents flying.

A goodly section of the exterior wall of the Royal Palace came crumbling down, and Toph bounded out, followed almost immediately by dozens of Dai Li agents. When Toph landed, it was on a wave of rock, which she seemed to surf toward Appa. Sokka gave Appa a yip-yip, and began to fly, leaning over the side of the head, an arm outstretched. "Throw me your chains!" Sokka shouted as she came close. She leapt up, blindly letting the chains wrapping her arms fly out to where she heard his voice. They wrapped around Sokka's wrist, almost pulling him from Appa, but he held tight. And he hauled Toph up next to him.

"Well, that was exciting," Toph said, covered in sweat, filth, and a bit of blood. Her nose was bleeding, and her lip was swollen. She'd taken a few hits down there. "I forgot the palace was that frickin' big!"

"It is when you can't go in one direction for more than ten steps," Sokka complained. He looked down as he lifted into the air in the evening light. Below, he could see a figure in green and black, staring up at him. Oh, what could have been. Sokka shook his head, and looked up. Something caught his eye in the distance, high in the sky. He leaned forward. It couldn't be. It was impossible. "No way. No damned way."

"What do you see?" Toph asked.

"Trouble," Sokka said.

* * *

Aang was running out of steam. He knew it. While the Dai Li were still a force to be reckoned with, many of them weren't in fighting shape, either. Between air, earth, and plantbending, many of them were snared, bludgeoned, or just discombobulated. He was running out of daylight, and he was running out of time. He was about to bend a wave of earth at a few Dai Li when a blue light caught his attention. He turned, letting the wave catch the fire blast instead. Azula was back on the surface. And Zuko was with her.

Aang hurled rocks and blasts of air at Azula, but she powered through all of them with her brutally effective firebending. Katara lashed out at Zuko, pummeling at him with columns of water, blades, waves. Zuko seemed to cut through them all. She screamed at him; "I thought you'd changed!"

Zuko raised his hands to his side, and with deathly tones, answered her: "I have changed." He then turned, and fired a blast at Aang. Azula joined him, coiling her own fire bomb around Zuko's column. Aang brought up a thick wall of stone, but it still hit like an avalanche, knocking Aang through a wall. He had to shake the stars out of his eyes, fight to keep the strength in his body. Back in the arboretum, both siblings had turned their attention on Katara, blasting and smashing at the waterbender. She was knocked about, her hair falling loose, her features set in furious concentration. Aang looked, and knew he was going to lose everything. Everybody. The finality of Guru Pathik's last message finally sank in. If he wanted to save her, he'd have to let her go. He bowed his head, and in his mind, he saw that image of Katara, the woman who would have changed his life, and he let it drift away. It vanished down the river. When he opened his eyes again, it was not as Aang. It was as the Avatar.

He saw the world through a thousand sets of eyes. A thousand voices whispered to him. A thousand lifetimes of power. And now, he was the one directing it. He stood, and he punched out. A wall of stone blasted up, tearing apart a good chunk of the castle as it separated the siblings from Katara. A gust of air, smashing into them. Zuko was uprooted from his feet, sent flying. But Azula, somehow she held her ground. Her hair was pulled free, flapping like a raven's wing in the evening light. The wind even pushed hard enough to make stone buckle. The gale stopped.

"Finally, we see the mythical Avatar," Azula taunted, her face frightfully eager. She spun her arms. "Let's see if the legend meets the man!"

Aang cast out a hand, and a wall of electricity rose up around him, like a net. A trick discovered by Avatar Tenko. The lightning bolt hit that net, and was pulled away from the Avatar into the ground. As long as he touched the ground, her lightning was useless against him. Aang moved forward, casting out a hand, and a wave of bullets began to fire up from the ground, to batter and pelt Azula into submission, but she refused to play party to them. She slammed her fists toward the ground, and blue fire erupted from them. She launched herself into the sky.

Not to be outdone, Avatar Aang rose, inside a sphere of air, and went to her level. Her flight was slower than his, but pulled him well away from any element except for hers, and his. She smirked at him. She was not afraid. _Why_ was she not? She hurled fire at him, but he batted her attacks away with small, easy gusts of wind. She couldn't hold out much longer, surely.

Below, a cyclone of water began to rise. Katara was rising up to him. No! Stay down there! I can't protect you up here! Azula's eyes turned from his, down to her. That smirk widened on her face, and she twisted her arms, generating lightning even as her firebending held her aloft. Avatar Aang _should_ have done nothing. Avatar Aang should have protected _himself_.

Aang didn't. Aang protected Katara. He raced past Azula, getting into the path of what he knew was coming. All the knowledge in the world didn't prepare him. It was like a lifetime's agony in an instant, tearing through every part of him. His eyes fluttered, his limbs flapped. He felt the great wash of cosmic energy pouring out of him. And as he fell, through the skies above Ba Sing Se, he smiled. Because Katara was safe. Blackness became everything.

* * *

Katara's eyes went wide, as Aang surged past Azula, intercepting that lightning bolt that had surely been intended for her. It surged out of her two extended fingers, and lanced the distance, digging into the center of Aang's back. Tears began to form in Katara's eyes as he convulsed, such pain in his features... And then he began to fall. She let out a cry of such hatred and rage that she wasn't sure it was completely human, and she blasted almost every drop of water she could feel at Azula. Azula looked triumphant, but then, when she saw the assault that had been levied against her, that triumph curdled. A flurry of ice and water the likes of which any storm would envy. She shot Katara one last glare. A promise, almost, before thundering away on pillars of flame. All, within a moment.

Katara wasted no more time. She swooped down, foregoing the cyclone for just a ramp of ice, skating down and catching Aang's falling form before it hit the ground. His eyes were open, sightless, but his chest was still. "No! No you can't do this!" she shouted. She glanced up. Appa was approaching. She bent the ramp to dump her into the saddle, and she cradled Aang as she landed. She looked around.

"What happened?" Toph said, pawing her way to Aang. "Why isn't Twinkletoes breathing?"

"We've lost," Sokka said, bitterly. "The Earth Kingdoms have fallen."

But Katara didn't care. She pulled every drop out of her hair, her clothes, and placed it onto the large burn on his back. She forced, she healed, but it wasn't enough. He was gone. She shook her head. This wasn't possible.

"Katara..." Toph said. "His heart isn't beating. Aang's gone."

Katara's tears flowed, as she huddled the still form of Aang. She'd tried so hard. They all had. And they'd failed. Utterly and completely. She looked up as they flew. The full moon was rising in the sky as the daylight was failing. No. Not yet. She refused to fail. Not today. Today, Aang was going to live! She reached into her shirt, pulling out the phial of Spirit Oasis water, and she snapped it, letting the thin trickle fall into her hand. It glowed on its own, even before Katara empowered it. She laid her hand, with that special water, onto Aang's back.

And she gave everything she had. Every ounce of power she had in her body, multiplied and multiplied again, as she felt the full power of the Blood Moon flowing through her. Once, she felt like she _could_ have brought back the dead. Now, she was _going to_. No matter what. She felt herself flowing, not just a scrap, as it had when healing Toph, but all of it. She didn't care. Aang would live, or neither would. She felt something vital inside him. Something began to move. To flare. He drew in a breath, his eyes fluttering. He looked up at her. She looked down and smiled. He was alive.

And then everything fell.

* * *

Toph shouted in alarm as Katara pitched over, banging her head hard on the edge of the saddle. "Sweetness! What happened?" Toph yelled, pushing at her. Sokka leapt into the saddle, pulling Katara away from Aang. Her skin was cool and grey, her eyes mostly closed. She breathed, but it was a faint, thready breath. Sokka looked over at Aang. He was no better. Sokka slumped down in the saddle, letting Appa decide where they would go.

"Sokka," Toph said, sounding afraid. "What's going on? What happened to your sister?"

"I don't know," Sokka said. "I just don't know."

He didn't look behind them, knowing that at that very moment, dozens of bright red war balloons were swooping down toward the Royal Palace. The Fire Nation now ruled the world.

* * *

Azula sat in the Earth King's throne, triumphant. She looked a lot less battered than Zuko himself. He still felt beaten to within an inch of his life. Both on the outside, and the inside. "We've done it, Zuko," Azula said. "The Fire Nation has broken its backs against the walls for a hundred years, but now, we've done it. We have conquered. Ba Sing Se now belongs to the Fire Nation."

Zuko looked away, to the bloodstain on the floor below. "I betrayed Uncle," Zuko whispered. Azula let out a laugh.

"No, he betrayed you," she got up then sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his neck. She leaned entirely too close. "When you return home, father will hail you as a war hero," Zuko turned away, unable to look her in the eye. She tutted. "Are you afraid that Father won't restore your honor? Don't be. Today, you restored your own honor."

Zuko rose, and walked down the steps. She was wrong. He hadn't restored his honor. He'd destroyed it. Possibly forever. And deep inside Zuko's heart, a fire burned, wild and high. Almost out of control.

* * *

Ty Lee looked in the iron chamber. The guard had left, and she just stared at the old man inside. She rapped on the door, trying to get his attention. But General Iroh stoically looked away. She opened the door with the key she'd pocketed. "Iroh? Can I talk to you?" she asked.

Iroh turned to her, and gave a sigh. "What is it, little lady?"

"Are you alright?" she asked. She winced. It was obvious he wasn't. He looked battered and beaten. "I mean... Are they treating... you... alright?"

Iroh sighed. "The insults they throw at me and the assaults they levy against my body are nothing compared to the violations that have been inflicted upon my soul," Iroh said quietly. "I was so sure. I thought I knew him. I thought I knew the man he was becoming."

"Zuko?" Ty Lee asked. Iroh looked away. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault," he said. He looked up a the ceiling. "I had such hopes for today. Will you help me?"

"What is it?" Ty Lee asked.

"Today was the day my son, Lu Ten, died," Iroh said, not moving against his chains. "Help me let him know he's being remembered." Ty Lee sat beside the old man, and closed her eyes. He began to sing. "_Leaves on the vine / falling so slow. Like tiny, fragile shells / drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy / comes marching home. Brave soldier boy / comes marching home._"

"_Leaves on the vine,_" she began, "_Falling so slow, like tiny, fragile shells, drifting in the foam._"

"_Little soldier boy, comes marching home,_" they sang together. Tears leaked down Iroh's face. "_Brave soldier boy... comes marching home._"

* * *

_End it on a touching note. By all means, leave a review._


	21. Homeless

**This chapter came about because of the expanded timeframe, and I didn't want a few things to come out of nowhere. More at the bottom.**

* * *

Jee looked around the antechamber. It was long and fairly narrow, like a hallway, but a row of plinths ran up the wall, each bearing a different object. He glanced behind him, to where the Whalesh samurai were guarding the door. Making sure he didn't feel like running off, more likely. He shook his head. While it wasn't his choice to come here, he'd might as well make the most of it.

The first plinth held a mannequin, upon which rested a threadbare Earth Kingdom hanbok. Jee had seen its like many times in his journey through the southern Earth Kingdom, before he settled in Misty Swamp. He looked at it a moment, wondering if his ex-wife was living happily. She'd left him when he was cast out of the military in dishonor. He couldn't fault her. He'd made his mistakes, and he couldn't ask her to pay for them as well. He moved further. Boots, of striped leather. Water Tribe? Strange.

"Don't dawdle," one of the samurai said from the door. But Jee took his time. He had nothing but it, these days. At the least, he got a free and comfortable trip to Kad Deid out of his 'capture'. Next plinth, a gilded iron comb, but the gilt had mostly flaked away. It was strange that objects of such low value would be on display in the heart of the palace. The last plinth, and probably worth the least of all, was a scorched doll that looked like it came from Ba Sing Se. It rested in a glass case, staring out with its little stitched smile even with its blackened cloth.

Jee frowned, looking back up the room. Objects from the remaining nations, but nothing from Great Wales? He turned, and opened the heavy oaken door to the innermost sanctum. Several fires burned heartily, giving the windowless chamber no shortage of light. A figure with long black hair was standing, facing away from him, reading a tome. "You are a hard man to find, Sergeant Jee," the woman said in perfect, barely accented Huojian. "I had never credited you able to hide in a swamp. It's quite unlike your character."

"I do what I must to survive," Jee said. He took a step forward, but he heard a whisper of steel. He turned. The figures he thought statues were bodyguards. He stopped, and kept his hands to his sides. "With whom do I speak?"

"I have a task for you," the woman said, turning around. Her face was concealed by a silver mask, and she carried the book with her chair. It was hardly a throne, but then again, this was hardly a throneroom. Jee scowled. "And I am confident you will accept."

"I am no subject of Great Whales," Jee said.

"You are no subject of the Fire Nation, either," she said. She motioned, and one of the bodyguards moved forward, setting down a table next to Jee. Another set a small chest atop it, then both moved back to the walls. Jee reached over and opened it. Fire Nation gold stared up at him. "It is not payment," the woman said. "It is resources, and there will be as much more as you need."

"I don't understand. What do you want from me?" he asked. The woman turned away, as though pondering. "I don't even know who you are."

"You never were one to keep up with politics," the woman said. She nodded her head. "That must change. I am the Empress of Great Whales. And the task I have for you is monumental in scope, perhaps lethal in danger. According to all sources in the Fire Nation, Sergeant Jee is dead. That gives you an advantage, which you are going to use to prepare."

"For what, Highness?" Jee asked, diplomatically.

"The downfall of Fire Lord Ozai," she said. She stood, and dismissed her guards. They filed out silently. "Sergeant Jee, since I ascended to my position, it has been against the law to make any representation of my image. Any who do so, are executed. That is because there is a price I am not willing to pay for one person recognizing me. That one person is not you. However, if you ever reveal what I am about to show you, even though it would not be your life placed in jeopardy, I promise you, your demise will not come quickly, but quite inevitably," she said.

"As you wish, Highness," Jee said. He didn't understand, but then again, he was a soldier. His was to fight, not to yammer on and walk the poisonous pathways of the mighty. She turned away, and pulled off her silver mask. When she turned again, Jee fell to his knees.

* * *

Zuko watched the palace as the balloons rose and landed, disgorging more and more soldiers with every pass. He shook his head; all his life, the sky had always been the unconquered frontier. But now, the Fire Nation had mastered that, too. He walked down the streets. Ba Sing Se was now the greatest city in the Fire Nation. It was hard to get his head around that. As he walked, he flexed his hands, letting that fire swell along his fingertips each time. His fire was back. And he wasn't exactly sure why.

He walked, and the rumble of collapsing stone filtered to his keen ears. All day, the Dai Li had been tearing down all of the walls of Ba Sing Se, letting even more troops file into the city. With the military paralyzed by Azula's coup, there was almost no resistance. Azula had done in three days what Uncle couldn't in two years. And a life had fallen into Zuko's lap. The life he always wanted. Home. Family. Father.

"You're looking grimmer than me," Mai said. He gave a start. He hadn't heard her approaching. Then again, he almost never did. She was very good at being quiet. "I'd have thought you'd be happier."

"So did I," Zuko said. He looked at her, and he could feel that hunger. But he'd changed so much in the last few years. So had she, probably. "It's been a long time."

"Obviously," Mai said, rolling her bright grey eyes. Damn it all, why didn't Zuko ever know what to say around women? Mai seemed content to just walk with him, though. He walked, deep in his own thoughts, trying to think of something to say, something to see if he could regain what time had lost. He was interrupted when a voice called to him from a building nearby.

"Lee!" the voice said. "Are you alright? It isn't safe to be out in the streets!"

Mai turned, raising an eyebrow. Zuko's eyes went wide. "Jin?" he asked. She glanced down the street, at the Fire Nation soldiers who marched up the streets, and beckoned the two of them in. When Zuko shrugged, she moved out and grabbed him, dragging him into the building with her, and Mai along with him. "What are you doing?" Zuko asked, annoyed.

"Saving you're life," Jin said. She turned to Mai, and that easy smile of hers crawled onto her face. "Who's your friend?"

"Remember the knife thrower?" Zuko asked. She nodded. "This is Mai."

"Oh! You were in the circus with Lee?" Jin asked. Mai turned to Zuko, with an expression that said 'what have you been telling this woman?'. "I'd like to see it."

"She'd like to see my knife throwing?" Mai asked. Zuko wilted inside. This was going to end poorly. His mind immediately went back to that trick Azula played on them all those years ago. Mai got a bit of a smirk on her face, and took Zuko's hand. "Stand here," she said, putting his back against the wall. She looked about, and found a fish on Jin's butcher block, she draped it over Zuko's head.

"Oh, this is so exciting," Jun said, clapping her hands. Mai just gave Zuko a glance, then cast out her hand, and a heavy knife slammed into the fish, brushing against his hair. Mai then pulled out a second knife, and threw it right next to the first. The head fell off the fish. A third knife, and the tail fell down past Zuko's other ear. "I want to try it!"

Mai had a small smile on her face, and she was staring at Zuko as she pulled out a knife and handed it to Jin. Zuko's eyes went wide. What was she thinking? Mai might be a paragon with the thrown knife, but Jin was just a peasant girl! Jin took the knife eagerly, and hurled it. Zuko had to dive aside so he wasn't stabbed in the face. In the process, he tipped a basin of water onto his head. Mai concealed light chuckling behind a black nailed hand, and Jin looked like she was about to pass out for laughter. Mai moved to Zuko and leaned down.

"Now we're even," she said, then pulled Zuko to his feet.

"Really? Last time, it was an apple, it was on _your_ head, and it was my sister's fault we ended up in that fountain," Zuko muttered. He rubbed his hair. It would probably smell like fish for days. Jin finally laughed herself out, and shook her head.

"I can see why you two were in that circus together," Jin said. Mai just gave Zuko a glance. "You're welcome to stay here until things die down. I don't have any parents to take up space, and I've got a spare room," she smiled brightly. "She's already half prepared dinner for us."

Zuko went into the back room, and began to wring the water out of his shirt. Mai just stood at the door. "It's been a long time," she said. Zuko nodded.

"I know."

"I waited for you. I fought against my parents. They wanted to marry me off, use me as a political tool," Mai said, grimly. "I told them that whoever they married me to, wouldn't survive the honeymoon."

"That sounds about right," Zuko muttered. So she had become sanguineous in his absence? It shouldn't have surprised him. She was an Azuli woman, after all. But she always said...

"Four years," she said. "Time changes things, you know. It changes people. It takes things away from them. You used to be so righteous. You used to be my Phoenix King. And what are you now?"

"I don't know."

"You were one of the only people I trusted and cared about. And the sad thing is, I feel like I'm starting to lose that," she turned, looking out at Jin in the kitchen. She slid the door closed. "It takes time. To rebuild what we've lost. To get back to where we were before everything changed."

"It won't be easy," Zuko admitted.

"Why not?" Mai asked, turning to him. "Why can't we just skip all of that crap? Why can't we just go back to who we were before everything changed?" she moved to him, running her long, cool fingers along his scarred face, not flinching, not looking away. "Why can't you just hold me right now?"

Zuko felt a nervous smile pull at him. "I don't see why I can't," he said. He pulled Mai close, feeling her breath on his cheek, her heartbeat against his chest. He felt that fire inside him, still burning, still angry, but part of him finally knew peace. Mai was a home. Mai was a purpose. Mai was a destiny. And now, Zuko had all three.

* * *

Katara's eyes snapped open, and she tried to bolt to her feet, but she felt herself snared. She let out a clipped yell of shock, feeling that binding, but when she struggled, the bounds upended and dumped her onto the floor. She shook her head. She felt faint. She felt disorientated. She felt like the entire room was swaying. A pounding sounded above.

She crawled toward the only source of light, which crept around the frame of a door. She pushed the door open, trying to steady herself against that swaying sensation. A wooden stairway went upward, vaguely familiar. She staggered up, and began to hear the crashing of waves. The ocean. She saw water surrounding her. Behind, three men were pounding nails into the deck. Men in blue clothes. She tried to focus. Where was she?

"Katara?" Sokka's voice came from the deck. "Katara!"

"Sokka, where are we?" Katara asked. Her eyes went wide. "Aang! What happened to Aang?"

"Katara, calm down," Sokka said. "Aang's safe. He's in the other room."

"I need to..." she trailed off, feeling a wave of nausea wash over her. "Ugh. I feel awful."

Sokka looked over his shoulder and then sighed. "Katara, you've been asleep for two weeks," he said.

"Where am I?" Katara asked.

"We're in a hidden cove off of Full Moon Bay," Bato said, rising up from his place at the center of the deck. "This ship... well, these ships, technically, are the only part of the fleet which survived. The rest were sunk, and the crews were captured."

Katara moved down the rail, hoping. The last turned. Her hopes were dashed. It wasn't Hakoda. It wasn't Dad. The ship they were sitting on was also obviously two boats which had been kitbashed together, held together with boards and nails. It was a miracle it was still floating. "Where is Aang?" Katara asked. Her balance was beginning to return, now that she knew why the world seemed to sway. It was because it did, the waves bucking the ship in the shallows.

Sokka took Katara to the other stairway down, into what had been the crew compartment of the other ship. Down there, the lamps were lit, but not for any real purpose. Toph was sitting on the floor, a fur wrapped around her filthy pajamas. Next to her, laying in a secure hammock, was Aang. He breathed, but his skin was pale, and cool to the touch. "What's wrong with him?"

"Other than that he got struck by lightning?" Toph asked. "It's like he won't heal. His burn still bleeds every couple of days. He's been like that since Ba Sing Se, when the two of you passed out on Appa."

"I passed out?" Katara asked. Sokka nodded. Of course. When she healed, she felt the Blood Moon empowering her. She felt that strength flowing out of her and into him. She'd almost died. But looking at Aang, his hair beginning to grow in, she knew she'd do the same thing again in a heartbeat.

"Katara, there's more. The Fire Nation now controls the entire East Continent, more or less. Ba Sing Se is completely under their control. And then there's these," Sokka said. He reached into a chest and pulled out some scrolls. She unfurled them, and blazened upon them were the images of Sokka and Katara and Toph, with angry Huojian script next to them. Fire Nation wanted posters. "We're all fugitives, now."

"Does the image look like me?" Toph asked.

"Yup," Sokka said. He turned back to Katara. "I'm sorry, Katara. We have nowhere else to go."

"And Dad?" Katara asked. Sokka just shook his head. Katara lowered herself to the furs next to Aang, and fought against frustrated tears.

* * *

Jeong Jeong looked at the Royal Palace as his balloon descended toward its courtyards. Below, the finest warriors in the Fire Nation were gathered, awaiting the highest ranked person outside of Ozai himself. When the balloon settled, Jeong Jeong hopped out, with a dexterity belying his age. "Firemaster Jeong Jeong," a soldier said. "The occupation is moving smoothly... may I ask why you have come?"

"No, you may not," Jeong Jeong said. He began to walk through the soldiers, past the columns of Salamander battletanks that were parked, facing outward. The Palace was still in terrible shape, with the aftermath of the coup still apparent. "Where is Crown Princess Azula?"

"She is in the throneroom, Firemaster," the soldier said. Jeong Jeong dismissed him. He wasn't happy that he'd been sent away from his palatial estate in Sozin City. The only comfort was that Ba Sing Se wasn't much worse. He was annoyed. And he was impatient. "Do you need directions to..."

"Do I look like some ignorant peasant?" Jeong Jeong asked. "I know the way. You are dismissed."

Jeong Jeong shook his head, moving through the grand hallways, some filled with rubble. The palace might have been more quickly repaired had they hired earthbenders to do the work, but Azula had rightly assumed that there could be no trusting the recently conquered peoples to undertake the task. Finally, he went through the door to the throne room. At the far end, Crown Princess Azula was sitting on what used to be the Earth King's throne. Jeong Jeong's eyes narrowed as he saw the Dark Prince near the dais, talking to some minor noble. Of course he managed to survive. Zuko lived to vex Jeong Jeong.

"Crown Princess Azula," Jeong Jeong said. "The Fire Lord sends his regards and congratulations."

"I'm sure he does," Zuko muttered from his spot, leaning against the railing of the stairs. "But that doesn't explain why you've left Sozin City for the first time in a decade."

Jeong Jeong's eyes flashed to Zuko. Zuko just stared back, unflinching. So the boy had grown a backbone, had he? The Firemaster turned back to Azula. "Fire Lord Ozai wishes to personally congratulate both yourself... and your brother... for the successful annexation of Ba Sing Se, and the cessation of the war effort in the East Continent. The Fire Nation is victorious."

"So, when will he arrive?" Azula asked, looking keenly at the aged master. "I don't doubt he would love to stride the paths no Fire Lord has ever walked before."

"He is not coming," Jeong Jeong said. "You are going to him. Both of you. Immediately."

Azula's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Ozai has called you home. The Avatar is dead, Ba Sing Se in his hands. Your task is done. You will return home via war balloon presently."

"But there is still much to do in Ba Sing Se," Azula said, shaking her head. Jeong Jeong scowled.

"Then delegate. You are a princess, not a page," Jeong Jeong turned to face the Dark Prince. "And you... you got very lucky. But your luck will run out. It always does."

"Gods, what's his problem?" the noble next to Zuko muttered. Jeong Jeong didn't care what the girl thought. All that mattered was the greatness of the Fire Nation. And for the moment, that meant that Zuko was returning home. And there was nothing Jeong Jeong could do about it. For the moment. That would change. He stopped, turning back.

"There were two companions," Jeong Jeong said. "Where is the other?"

"Ty Lee is doing whatever it is she does," Azula said. "It isn't like she has anything to go home to. I don't doubt she's on her way back to her circus at Si Wong by now."

"I see. Good. Avoid unnecessary scandal," Jeong Jeong said. At least somebody in that family had an ounce of political acumen. It might be the only thing saving them when they got home. The Fire Nation was a much more hostile place then when they'd left it.

* * *

It was hard sailing. The ship that Sokka, Bato and Ogan pieced together seemed like it was more holes than wood. Appa could barely fit on the deck, and only then because the deck was twice as wide as it was supposed to be near the back. Katara wasn't getting much sleep. Between her concern for Aang and the constant waterbending she had to do to keep the ship from swamping, there wasn't time for rest. They had to get away from Ba Sing Se. They had to do it now.

"Katara!" Bato said, standing at the back of the ship. He pointed behind them. Sokka joined her at the stern, and Sokka passed her a telescope. A massive, black form of a Fire Nation ship. "They're catching up to us. We can't move any faster with the wind in our faces."

"I can bend the tides faster," Katara offered. It was the primary way they were slipping through the waters of Full Moon Bay, her waterbending making them slide down toward the ocean. But it was tiring, and this ship wasn't the smooth, cutting craft that her people were used to piloting. It was a monstrosity of necessity. And besides, Sokka was shaking his head.

"If you did that, you'd probably tear the hulls apart," Sokka said. He hung his head. For just a moment, he looked like a younger, clean shaven Hakoda. "They're going to overtake us. When they do, we're going to fight them. You take Toph and Aang on Appa and get out of here.

"No," Katara said.

"Don't argue this!" Sokka shouted. "You have to save the people you can, and we're the only ones who can stop them, even for a while. When Aang wakes up, he's going to need you and Toph. Me? Not so much."

"I don't like your plan. It sucks," Katara said. She looked back at the black, metal, Fire Nation ship. Despite the fact that they had to have seen the Water Tribe vessel, nobody was manning the catapults. In fact, on closer inspection, there weren't even any catapults on deck. "Bato, turn us around. I think its time we got a new boat."

Sokka stared at Katara, then began to laugh hysterically. She frowned at Bato, who shrugged. "Oh, I've never been more proud than I am right now of my little sister," Sokka said, with a grin.

Bato swung the boat around, its timbers cracking and popping as they went through the sudden maneuver, but Katara didn't care. She just coated the bottom of the boat with a skin of ice, for just this one last voyage. Toph came up out of the holds, rattling the chains she'd wrapped around her arms. Fighting in her pajamas again. It was becoming something of a habit for the blind metalbender. The ship began to loom quite large. Bato batted his club against his palm, nervously. "How exactly are we going to board the deck?" Bato asked. Sokka grinned.

"Who said anything about boarding the deck?" Sokka answered. He turned to Toph. "You up for this?"

"Do platypus bears crap in the woods?" she countered. Katara understood the plan immediately.

"You're going to have to trust me. Timing will need to be perfect," Katara said.

"I trust you about as far as I can fling ya'," Toph said, a grin on her face. Katara pointed back at Ogan.

"Get Aang onto Appa and stay airborne until I call you down," Katara said. She then began to swirl her hands, pulling up from the water. A vast cloud of fog began to swell up, obscuring all vision. Except for Toph's anyway, and hers was what mattered. When she was done, she pulled a thick arm of water up onto deck, and froze the end of it. Toph stepped onto it, and Katara hurled the water forward, through the fog, into the Fire Nation ship.

"And now, I suppose, we wait," Bato said. Appa gave a groan, then there was a whoosh of air. In the distance, Katara could hear the shrieking of metal being torn apart. Then, the ship loomed suddenly out of the fog. Everybody readied themselves, and at the moment the flimsy ship crashed into the iron behemoth, they were all riding a pallet of ice through that breach, into the dim red light of the Fire Nation hold.

She was immediately assaulted by the smell of sweat and human bodies. She looked around, adjusting her vision to the sudden low light, and she gave a gasp. This was a prison ship. And all of these prisoners were her people, taken during the Battle of Chameleon Bay. She turned. "Toph!"

"Workin' on it," she said. She tore apart a cage, allowing Tribesmen to crawl out. Sokka and Bato each handed them a spare weapon, and they began to move up through the ship. Katara went with them. This was her ship now. Its owners just didn't know it yet. The Fire Nation soldiers tried to block their way upward, but Bato and Sokka brought them down quickly. The army of familiar faces rose through the ship.

In the tower, a firebender tried to leap out and incinerate Katara. But she just smashed him aside with the water from her flasks. It was always a mistake to attack waterbenders at sea. Often, a fatal mistake. Katara and Sokka moved upward, as the Tribesmen began to flare outward, clearing and securing the rest of the ship. They reached the helm, the highest point of the ship. Katara tried the door, but it was locked. Toph was below, still freeing prisoners, or else, imprisoning defeated enemies. Katara was impatient. She bent the water into a column which assaulted the door, giving it no peace or respite. Iron was strong, but water was insistent, patient, and inevitable. And water always won.

The door tipped off busted hinges, and the siblings entered the room. Three firebenders stood with locked shoulders, waiting to strike. At least, that's what Katara thought, until one of them pitched over, face first. The captain turned to him, then let out a cry of alarm as a wooden stick smashed him in the head. A twist of movement, and the last was pulled off his feat and then chased down by a staff. When all was said and done, three men were down on the deck, the Water Tribe siblings had done nothing but open a door, and Ty Lee was breathing heavily, holding onto Aang's lost glider staff.

"This belongs to you," she said.

"Ty Lee?" Sokka said. "What are you doing here?"

"Giving your family back," she said quietly, She looked down at the unconscious people below. "I am going to find that happy ending, Sokka. Where everybody's happy and _everybody_ lives. It exists. I know it does. And I think you all are the way I'm going to find it."

"I don't know if I can trust you," Katara said darkly. Ty Lee smiled sadly.

"Then I'll have to earn it. Again," she said. And she walked to the door, out onto the balcony, and sat, staring out at the water. Behind them, Katara heard footsteps approaching. Sokka turned first, and when he did, he dropped his club.

"Dad!" he shouted, and he ran forward, giving Hakoda a big hug. "I thought I'd lost you again!"

"And yet here I am again. It seems like the universe just can't keep the two of us apart."

Katara looked away, unable to look at her father. "And yet you keep disappearing," Katara said. Men began to move into the room and remove the captain and his men, now prisoners. "Every time I think I'm going to see you again, something comes up. And it's always me who is left standing on the shores alone, waiting, wondering if I'll ever see you again. And I can't do it anymore. I can't stand not knowing if you're alive or dead, or if you're ever coming back..."

Katara fought tears, but they were coming out anyway. Hakoda turned her toward him. "This isn't about me is it?" Katara bit her lip, looking down to where Appa was landing on the deck, to the limp young man tied to a stretcher being lowered to friendly hands. She looked at her father again, the tears finally breaking free.

"How could you, Dad?" she asked. "I know why you had to leave, and I understand how important it was, but every day I fell asleep, you just disappeared a little more from my life, and it tore me apart. And even though I know why you left, I still felt so angry and abandoned and alone inside," she said, weeping. Hakoda just gathered her into a hug, her head against his shoulder. "I don't want anybody else I love to leave me," she whispered.

"Katara, I love you and your brother more than anything," her father said. "You are my entire world. I swore a long time ago that I would keep you safe. And I will. From anything I can."

"Dad..." Katara said. She wept on his shoulder, and Sokka patted her back. When she'd finally cried herself out, she and her father turned and watched the water from the balcony. To one side, Katara could see Sokka sitting beside the acrobat.

"Thank you," Sokka said to her, looking her in the eyes. "You don't know what this means to us."

Ty Lee looked at him, and a bright smile came to her face. "You see _me_," she said, with a bittersweet tone. "You're looking at _me_ again. You're looking at Ty Lee."

* * *

Azula walked into her father's chambers. He turned to her, a small smile on his face. He held his arms out wide, showing the unusual clothing he was wearing. A coat, made out of the whole skin of a bear. "This was just sent to me from the royal furriers," he said. "Don't I look fantastically barbaric? You might mistake me for some Water Tribesman."

"You called for me, Father?" Azula asked. Ozai nodded, his smirk vanishing. He pulled off the bear skin coat which used to be the Earth King's pet and threw it aside. Something about that didn't sit well with Azula, but she couldn't say what.

"You have done better than I could have imagined," Ozai said, walking to her and cupping her face with a hand. "You managed to capture my traitorous brother and conquer Ba Sing Se in three days. And you even struck down the Avatar himself."

The wheels turned in Azula's head. While she had struck him directly with the bolt of lightning, she hadn't recovered the body. She would never believe the Avatar dead unless she sat five days with his corpse. And besides, when she asked Zuzu about it, his answer was a non answer. She looked up at her father. "It was not I who slew the Avatar," Azula lied. "It was my brother, Zuko. You should have seen him. He was like a channel for rage itself."

Ozai rose a brow, but smiled. "That is good. It will weigh well for him. I feared his dishonor would not have been expunged, but this... this tips the scale. One child, the champion who conquered a nation single handed, the other, a warrior who slew the Avatar himself in single combat. That, Azula, is the power of fire."

"Yes, Father," she said. She waited for the other sandal to fall. There was always something not right. Not perfect. She waited, and he smiled, turning away. That was it? She'd done well? Well enough for him to just thank her and walk away? No. This couldn't be right. She was never perfect. So close, but almost perfect was not good enough. What did Father want from her? Why wasn't he telling her? "Is there anything else you want, Father?" Azula asked, keeping her voice steady.

"You've done well, Azula," he said. "Now, tell Zuko that I await him in the Royal Chambers. He must have his due as well."

Azula walked out of the chambers, feeling a bit ill at ease. He thanked her. She'd done well. Perfection? But... No. She hardened a part of herself. If Father said she'd done well, then she'd done well. To second guess herself would be womanish. Worse, it would be like Zuko! And she refused to be like him. But still... She had plans for him. It would just fall to see whether he would be a beneficiary, or a target.

* * *

"Orange. What a stupid color," Mai said, looking at the sky.

"It's sunset," Zuko offered. Mai just shook her head.

"I hate orange."

"You hate a lot of things," Zuko pointed out. He smiled as she tucked in closer to him. "You're so beautiful when you hate the world."

DAMN IT! He always managed to say the dumbest thing. She looked at him, shaking her head lightly with a tiny smile. "I don't hate you," she said. The smile on Zuko's face grew a bit.

"I don't hate you, too," He said. She leaned up, and their lips met, briefly. It was a pleasant night, after a pleasant day. More pleasant than he'd expected, to be honest. When he stood before the people at the palace balcony, they cheered for him. The Dark Prince, no longer. Now, he just enjoyed the familiar heat, the press of the sun. Footfalls sounded, dragging Zuko's attention away from his girlfriend. He looked to the path leading to the edge of the caldera in which Sozin City rested. Azula was walking toward him.

"What do you want?" Zuko asked.

"Can I not just have a pleasant conversation with my brother?" Azula asked.

"Was that a rhetorical question?" Zuko answered. Azula looked at Mai, and nodded to the city.

"Mai, I'd like to speak to my brother, alone," she said.

"Why? What are you afraid she'd hear?" Zuko asked.

"It's family business. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested," Azula said. Mai just shrugged, before rising and heading away from the scenic overlook.

"I had to get my house back in order, anyway," Mai said flatly, before departing down the hill.

"What do you want, Azula?" Zuko asked.

"Father wants to speak to you," she said. She inspected her nails idly. "Right now."

"You had to tell me that in person?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I wanted to get one last look at you while you still inhabited this earthly shell," Azula smirked. "That is for you to decide. Go to Father. He is not a patient man."

Zuko rose, dusting off his robes, and moved past his sister. It was a long walk down into the city from the overlook, which was sort of the point of his going there. The adulation was fine for a few minutes, but then it just got... tiring. He walked, his hood pulled low, through the streets of Sozin City. The sun had set, and with it, his connection to that strongest font of firebending, by the time he reached the palace.

The Palace was a work of splendor, just as he'd remembered it. Gold and cinnabar and obsidian polished to a mirror sheen. He walked along its corridors, to the Hall of Fire, where the Fire Lord ruled. This one was relatively new; the whole palace had rebuilt in this place during Sozin's time. Before that, the old palace on the other side of the continent had played host to the Fire Lords for twelve hundred years. He opened the doors, walking the black floored chamber, toward the roaring fire in the trough. When Zuko reached the appropriate spot, he supplicated himself.

"You have been away for a very long time, and I can see the weight of your travels has changed you. Hardened you. Steeled you. Good. It has burned away the weakness that resulted in your banishment; you have redeemed yourself as my son," Ozai said. He rose, and walked through the flames, staring down at Zuko. "Welcome home, Zuko. Welcome home, my son."

"Thank you, Father," Zuko said, quietly. Ozai walked down the steps and began to pace to and fro along the path of the flames which still burned.

"I am proud of you," Ozai said. "I am proud of you, because when the moment of truth came, when your loyalty was tested by my treacherous brother, you did the right thing, and captured him. And I am most proud of your most legendary achievement; the slaying of the Avatar."

Zuko's eyes widened, but since he was facing the floor, Ozai couldn't have noticed. "What have you heard?" Zuko asked, testing. A small smile came to Father's face.

"Azula told me everything," he said. "When you faced the Avatar, you weathered his assaults and struck him down at the peak of his power. She said that she was impressed by what you had done at the critical moment."

"Thank you, Father," Zuko repeated. Azula was doing something. He remembered the nights he'd lay awake, chanting to himself his mantra against her cruelties. Azula always lies. Azula always lies. Azula always lies... "If that is all, I am fatigued, and wish to retire."

"Retire, my son," Ozai said, walking back into the flames. "You have restored your honor, and you have restored my faith in you."

Zuko rose, and walked away from the throne. Azula was planning something. He just didn't know what. He moved through the hallways, up to where Azula used to sleep. The room was empty, and also blasted and coated in soot. Zuko shook his head. Then he remembered something she'd said a while ago, the direction she'd left. He began to retrace his steps, and walked the halls again. It didn't take Zuko long to find where she'd taken to sleeping. Ursa's chambers. Mom's room.

"Why did you do it?" Zuko demanded as he cleared the door. Azula's head turned to him from under the sheets.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," Azula said. She shifted, swinging her bare legs over the edge of the bed. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Why did you tell Father that _I_ killed the Avatar?" Zuko pressed. Azula rose, stretching. She was wearing only a sleeping robe. She slunk toward him in a manner which made Zuko extremely uncomfortable. She smiled at him. It was not a sisterly smile.

"I told him because you seemed so worried that Father wouldn't restore your honor, just because you hadn't captured the Avatar," Azula walked past him, trailing her fingertips along his shoulder. Zuko went tense, wary. "I figured that if I gave _you_ the credit, Father would give you the accolades you so _richly_ deserve, and you would finally have your precious honor back."

"But why?" Zuko asked. Azula turned, running her fingernails across her exposed collarbone. This was _really_ creeping Zuko out.

"Call it a generous gesture, from sister to brother," she said, a smile on her face. Again, it was not a filial smile. Was she _trying_ to act this way?

"You're lying," Zuko said, unnerved. She shrugged, the robe slipping down a bit from her shoulder.

"If you say so," she said. She walked past him, back to the bed.

"You have an ulterior motive for this, I know it," Zuko said. "I just can't figure out what it is."

Azula leaned against her bedpost, smiling. "What ulterior motive could I have? And besides, what possible harm could there come from letting everybody think that you killed the Avatar?" she asked. Zuko glanced away. "Unless you think that he isn't dead. Because if he wasn't, all of that honor and accolade would suddenly turn to shame."

She smiled, then pulled herself back into bed. "Sleep well, Zuzu," she said, pulling the blanket back over her. Zuko quickly turned away. Two thoughts occurred to Zuko, and neither one was pleasant. Either his sister just _tried to knowingly seduce him_, which was horrifying in its own way, or else she seduced him _without even knowing she was doing it_. And the latter was actually scarier than the former. He walked away, knowing that he would get precious little sleep this night. Could the Avatar be alive? Could he risk it?

* * *

Toph stood on the deck of the ship they'd stolen, feeling the vibrations reaching through the metal. She could see everything that happened on this ship. She could see the Fire Nation soldiers in the hold. She could see Sokka talking to his father in the galley. She could see every one of the Water Tribesmen. She could see Katara walking up to her. It was good to be able to see. It meant she didn't get anywhere near as sick as last time.

"You look pensive," Katara said.

"I literally have no idea how you look," Toph responded. She turned, feeling those latest arrivals who were still moving in the tower. "Do you have any idea where we're going? Because my sight has a very definite boundary out here."

Katara sighed. "There's only two places that are still free of the Fire Nation," she said. "The Poles, and Great Whales. If we go to the Poles, we'd be safe, but..."

"But we wouldn't be able to do anything from there?"

"Yeah," Katara said. She hung her head. "I guess that means we've only got one option. Great Whales."

"I hope you speak the language," Toph said. Katara looked at her. "Oh wait, you don't. Just like you don't speak Huojian. You're really going to have to do something about that."

"Why?"

"Because we've got no army. We've only got a couple of Tribesmen and a bunch of wacky tinkerers to mount an invasion. That means, we're going to have to do this quietly," Toph said. "We're going to need to get to the heart of their nation without them knowing we're there. If you can't talk their language, they'll spot you a mile away."

"So what? I need to learn the Fire Tongue?" she asked.

"Couldn't hurt. Loverboy already's got a firm grip on it," she said. She tilted her head. An unusual sensation was coming toward her. It was part metal and part wood. "Katara, is there a wagon on this ship?"

"Teo!" Katara said, bounding up and moving toward the odd sound. Toph rose, and saw Katara embracing somebody in a strange, wheeled chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad decided that fighting for a place we couldn't defend wasn't worth the risk," Teo said. "He took all of the orphans and families and put them on boats to Kad Deid. It might not be much, but Great Whales isn't at war with the Fire Nation."

"Not yet," Katara said. "Give them a month."

"Anyway," Teo said, turning back to Katara. "Dad decided to see if there was any way he could help, and he sought you out. Do you want to hear how?"

"Is it technical?" Katara asked.

"A bit."

"Then you should probably tell it to my brother," Katara said. "He'd appreciate it more."

"Will do, Frequent Flier," Teo said. Katara took a step back, and waved toward Toph.

"Teo, this is Toph. She's Aang's earthbending master."

"She's an earthbender?" Teo said. Toph got ready to scowl, but he shrugged. "Cool. Don't see enough women earthbending, these days."

"I'm not just an earthbender. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!" Toph said.

"What's with your eyes?" Teo asked.

"She's blind," Katara whispered.

"Don't say it like its a bad thing," Toph chastised. She turned to Teo. "I can see everything going on in this boat with my feet alone. So tell me, what's with 'Frequent Flier'?"

"Katara and I used to fly together at the Northern Air Temple," Teo said.

"'Fly together'?" Toph asked, giving Katara a nudge. "And I thought you were all googoo for Twinkletoes."

"Toph," Katara's voice had an angry edge, so Toph backed off. She knew not to mess with an angry waterbender at sea. That way lead to a swift drowning.

"Fine. You should go get your brother. I think he'd like to talk to Teo," Toph said. Katara stared at Toph for a moment, then went toward the tower, where Sokka was. Toph turned back to the boy. "What's up with your chair?"

"I've got no legs," Teo said plainly. She reached over and patted his lap, and moved downward. He was right. His legs ended at the knees. "It hasn't stopped me," he continued. "Much the same way your blindness hasn't stopped you. I may not have legs, but I can move around with my chair. I can even fly, if the winds are right."

"That's pretty awesome," Toph said, She sat on the deck, dangling her legs over where the gangplank would have been. Teo just parked himself next to her. She glanced up at him. "Soooooo..." she said. "Wanna make out?"

Teo turned toward her, slowly. "Do I wanna what?"

Toph turned back toward the sea, quickly. "Nothing."

Teo chuckled. "You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this voyage."

Avatar, Book 2: Children of Earth – The End.

* * *

**So there you go. Book two is done, and everything's in place for book three. Lots of hints at things to come if you can read into them the right way and/or have an inside track into my twisted mind. But that's something which will slowly come about in the next book.**

**Quite unlike what I usually do, I'll be leaving this one here for as long as I can to answer any questions that pop up about things that appeared in Children of Earth. Since this thing went up in a matter of a month, it didn't have time to attract as much of a wide base of readership while it was still updating, so there's a good chance that questions might go unanswered simply because the boot time has lapsed and I can no longer update this. Without further ado, a Q&A session**

**Kuei is dead. Sad, I know, but he had to be for something well down the line. I did feel bad about Bosco, though. Ozai is a mean, mean man. It'll take a while for this one to come through, but there is a storyline requiring the Earth King's absence, one that couldn't be had by him wandering around in sandles and a sackcloth robe.**

**Calling Sokka Sparky in chapter 18 was, to be honest, a goof. But it's a goof I'm going to hold on to: Toph has already shown once that she'll reassign nicknames as she feels like it.**

**Also pointed out was that much of what was changed regarded motivation. That's really kind of important to me. I was building a psychology for these characters. Hell, I even managed to figure out why Toph was a borderline kleptomaniac, although that won't be explored until part way through Children of Fire (whenever I start putting it up. University has a way of getting in the way of things). I needed the tragedy not to be that Zuko didn't defect in Book Two, because it would be impossible for him at this point. The real tragedy comes in book three, and not for him. Why was I putting so much impetus on motivation? Because I needed for it to be plausible that Ty Lee would be part of the Gaang for the entire of Children of Fire. Only because of the groundwork of the last two books would that be possible. Especially once things get past the Invasion. It might be a personal preference, but I have never believed that people are inherently good or evil. It all comes down to the situations one faces, and the choices one makes. That's why I can't help but feel sorry for Azula, but feel Ozai didn't get a twinkling of what he deserved.**

**So, Children of Fire comes out soon, getting inside people's heads. Playing politics, dancing, accidentally creating THE HERO OF THE FIRE NATION, past lives, and a royal family tearing itself apart. Fun stuff. Stay tuned. It just gets bumpier from here.**

**EDIT: This just in. Book Three: Children of Fire is launched. Get 'er while she's hot. Heh. Fire puns.**

_Leave a review with questions you'd like answered about Children of Earth_

_Or just my praise. I kid._


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